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AN INQUIRY 



CONCERNING THE 



ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY, 



CHARLES C. HENNELL. 



TO WHICH IS ADDED 



CHRISTIAN THEISM, 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 



THIRD (PEOPLE'S) EDITION, OF BOTH WORKS. 
< ... 



LONDON : 

TRUBNER AND CO., 60, PATERNOSTER ROW. 

MDCCCLXX. 






I 



AN INQUIRY 



CONCERNING THE 



ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY. 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



To those whose interest is already so much awakened upon the 
subject of the divine origin of Christianity, that they feel the 
necessity of arriving at some certain conclusion, more than they 
fear any possible results to which such inquiries may lead, this 
attempt to contribute to the solution of the difficult question is 
offered. 

The hypothesis, that there is a mixture of truth and fable in 
the four Gospels, has been admitted, in different degrees, by many 
critics bearing the Christian name. The same method of free 
investigation which led Priestley and Belsham to throw doubt upon 
the truth of the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke, may 
allow other inquirers to make further excisions from the Gospel 
history. The reasons given by those eminent critics for proceeding 
so far may appear more valid tban any which can be urged for 
stopping where they did. The right of private judgment in the 
separation of truth from fiction being once accorded, the precise 
limits which ought to be assigned to the credible portion of the 
miraculous narratives are far from being obvious ; and the ascer- 
taining of these limits becomes a matter of interesting research 
to all who wish to know what they are to believe or disbelieve on 
the subject of the Christian religion. 

The following pages are the result of an investigation under- 
taken with this view, and pursued for some time with the expec- 
tation that, at least, the principal miraculous facts supposed to lie 



VI PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 

at the foundation of Christianity would be found to be impregnable ; 
but it was continued with a gradually increasing conviction that 
the true account of the life of Jesus Christ, and of the spread of 
his religion, would be found to contain no deviation from the known 
laws of nature, nor to require, for their explanation, more than the 
operation of human motives and feelings, acted upon by the pecu- 
liar circumstances of the age and country whence the religion 
originated. 

The analysis of the four Gospels, proceeding on the admission 
that they may contain a mixture of truth and error, is a very com- 
plicated but not impracticable task. It is necessary to form an 
opinion as to the date of each writing, the general character of 
each author, and his peculiarities as a writer ; to institute continual 
comparisons between the events or discourses which he relates, and 
the opinions and controversieb which arose subsequently to his own 
time ; to weigh the probability in favour of the real occurrence of 
a fact, considered in reference to the ascertained history of the 
time, with that in favour of its invention by the author or some 
intermediate narrator ; to consider what greater degree of weight 
is due to the testimony from the accordance of all, or of several of 
the writers ; and to ascertain whether they wrote independently, or 
copied from each other. By this laborious method of sifting and 
examining, it must be admitted that it would be possible to obtain 
a tolerably correct history from a collection of records acknowledged 
to be of a very mixed character. 

The doctrine of the divine inspiration, or of the unquestionable 
veracity, of the Gospel writers, lias hitherto hindered the full 
application of this free method of investigation to the New Testa- 
ment, on the part of believers in Christianity ; and unbelievers 
seem generally to have been more intent upon raising objections 
and cavils to the narratives as they stand, than in searching oat 
the real truth. Hence it has frequently been observed, that no 
clear and intelligible account lias been given of the life of Jesus 
Christ on simply natural grounds; whence it has been argued, 
that no alternative remains but to regard him as the miraculously 
endowed personage presented to us in the four Gospels. 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. Vll 

The first two chapters of this work give a sketch of conclusions 
formed in the manner above stated, from the study of the Old and 
New Testament, and of Josephus. It is admitted that some parts 
of this sketch cannot claim a higher character than that of plausi- 
ble conjecture. The authority of the main sources of information 
being shaken, it is evident that conjecture is, in many cases, all to 
which the utmost research can attain. The whole is, however, 
expressed in the historical style, for the sake of simplicity ; con- 
sequently, when the reader meets with some assertions not suffi- 
ciently supported by the notes, his patience is entreated until he 
arrives at the chapters which follow. 

The field of investigation being of almost interminable extent, 
the object has been rather to select a few striking points of inquiry 
than to exhaust the subject; many interesting points are therefore 
merely glanced at, and the volume is offered more as a collection 
of hints than as a complete treatise on the important subject which 
it approaches. 

The greater part of the work having been written before refer- 
ence was made to the commentators mentioned in the notes, the 
reader, who may be versed in biblical criticism, will have to excuse 
in some parts an unconsciousness that the same things had already 
been said by others. This applies especially to the chapters on 
Isaiah and Daniel, much of which the author has found to be nearly 
the same in substance as what had been said by Porphyry, Aben 
Esra, Kimchi, and Grotius. But the whole is suffered to remain, 
because some suggestions here offered differ much from the expla- 
nations of the above, and, it is believed, of all other commentators. 
The attention of the student of the prophecies is directed espe- 
cially to the explanation suggested of the seventh chapter of 
Daniel. 

Although the belief in the miraculous origin of Christianity forms 
at present a prominent feature in the creeds of all sects of professing 
Christians, it would be an unnecessary and perhaps injudicious limi- 
tation to hold that the relinquishment of the belief is equivalent 
to an entire renunciation of the Christian religion. Whatever be 
men's conclusions concerning the much-debated question of the 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



nature and powers of Jesus Christ, no conclusions of this kind 
need obstruct their perception of the general excellence of the 
moral system which is connected with his name, nor impede their 
acknowledgment of the beneficial influence which the Scriptures 
exercise over mankind, nor lead to hostility towards the ancient 
and useful institutions which the sanction of Christ and his fol- 
lowers has caused almost universally to accompany the admission 
of his religion. Most of the doctrines of Christianity are admitted 
to be so much in accordance with the purest dictates of natural 
reason, that, on recognizing the latter as the supreme guide, no 
violent disruption of the habits and associations of the religious 
world is necessary. The philosophizing tone adopted by many of 
the most distinguished modern advocates of religion rendei'S the 
transition easy from Christianity as a divine revelation to Christi- 
anity as the purest form yet existing of natural religion. The 
contemplation of the Creator may still be indulged, and lessons of 
morality and wisdom still sought, according to the forms which 
Christianity has consecrated. The transference of the sanction 
from a supposed revelation to natural reason will be so little pre- 
judicial to these high exercises of the mind, that, on the contrary, 
it will extend their interest by allowing them wider scope, and 
by rendering them more susceptible of all the improvements 
which experience, circumstances, and growing intelligence, suggest. 
Christianity will no longer be fettered by the necessity of a con- 
tinual adaptation to written precept, but will assume a position 
allowing it to expand freely according to the wants of each suc- 
cessive age, and to advance with the advancement of mankind. 

The author of this volume would therefore willingly have it 
considered as employed in the real service of Christianity, rather 
than as an attack upon it. Many doctrines, which were once 
thought to be essential parts of the system, have been successively 
dismissed into the class of its corruptions ; yet, after the -wound 
occasioned by the separation has been healed, Christianity has 
been found to remain still vigorous, and has even appeared more 
sightly as relieved from an excrescence. And now, if the progress 
of inquiry should lead men to carry the priming-knife nearer to 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. IX 

the root than they had at first contemplated, and to consign even 
the whole of the miraculous relations in the New Testament to the 
same list as the prodigies of Hindoo or Romish superstition, we 
may still find enough left in Christianity to maintain its name 
and power amidst growing knowledge and civilization. And this 
will be in that purer moral spirit, and those higher views of the 
nature of man, the progress of which, although naturally coincident 
with the advancement of the human mind, received so vigorous an 
impulse from the life of Jesus, that this spirit and these views 
have come to be indissolubly associated with the idea, and ex- 
pressed under the name, of Christianity. Christianity, thus re- 
garded as a system of elevated thought and feeling, will not be 
injured by being freed from those fables, and those views of local 
or temporary interest, which hung about its origin. It will, on 
the contrary, be placed on a surer basis ; for it need no longer 
appeal for its support to the uncertain evidence of events which 
happened nearly two thousand years ago, a species of evidence 
necessarily attainable only by long and laborious research, imprac- 
ticable to most men, and unsatisfactory and harassing even to those 
who have most means of pursuing it ; but it will rest its claims 
on an evidence clearer, simpler, and always at hand, — the thoughts 
and feelings of the human mind itself. Thus, whatever in it is 
really true and excellent, will meet with a ready attestation in 
every breast, and, in the improvement of the human mind, find an 
ever-increasing evidence. 

November, 1838. 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



A re-perusal of the New Testament several times since the first 
edition of this work appeared, and some further acquaintance with 
modern criticism on the subject, have not led the writer to alter 
the leading conclusions then arrived at. But some important 
points are now dwelt upon more at length, and additional notes 
and quotations given where the original most required them. 

In the first two chapters, it is endeavoured to mark more clearly 
the relationship of the Christians to the Essenes and Galileans. 
In the chapters on the four Gospels, an attempt is made to define 
more distinctly the characteristics of each ; and, since to ascertain 
how they were formed is one of the most vital, whilst it is the 
most difficult and laborious, part of the subject, the writer's own 
remarks are accompanied by notes showing the conclusions of some 
of the most recent German critics, a class of writers who have 
worked out this subject with an industry and acuteness which have 
probably attained to all the certainty of which the case admits. 

In chapters vii. ix. xvi. there are some additions on the events 
immediately following the crucifixion, on the miracles of Jesus, 
and on his character. 

Since the first edition of this work was published, the writer has 
read the celebrated Leben Jesu of Dr. Strauss, which contains a 
most minute and searching analysis of the various stories, anec- 
dotes, and sayings, which mainly make up the Gospels; and espe- 
cially a careful weighing of the probable proportion of reality and 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XI 

fiction in each. The present work embracing a wider scope, that 
important part of the subject occupies only a few chapters, which 
remain with little alteration. In only a few cases, and by way of 
example, the subject is pursued at some length; in others, for the 
sake of brevity, conclusions are given without arguments. The 
reader, who may feel that more satisfaction is justly demanded on 
this head, will share the pleasure which the writer felt on becoming 
acquainted with the elaborate and erudite work referred to. There 
the most extensive theological reading is brought to bear upon the 
subject ; and this, combined with unwearied patience, and unvary- 
ing philosophical candour, leaves a strong conviction that the 
Gospels have been examined by minds the most competent as well 
as willing to give them a full and fair trial.* 

The work of Dr. Strauss attributes, upon the whole, to the four 
Gospels, rather less of historical reality, and a larger proportion 
of the my thus and legend, than this volume. His opinions on the 
origin of the story of the resurrection, and his impressions of the 
views of Jesus, are somewhat different. He hesitates to ascribe 
to Jesus the political aim included in the Jewish notion of the 
Messiahship, but seems inclined to consider his views directed ex- 
clusively to spiritual dominion. f The most important agreement 
is that his investigations tend to dismiss all supernaturalism from 
the history of Jesus. The writer learns from friends well ac- 
quainted with the progress of theological learning in Germany, 



* It came to the knowledge of the writer in the year 1839, that a trans- 
lation of his first edition had been undertaken at Stutgard, accompanied by 
an introduction from the pen of Dr. Strauss, to whom he was then a total 
stranger, but who had seen a copy of the volume in the possession of one of 
his own English Mends. The fact of the translation, and the contents of 
that introduction, must be highly gratifying to the author ; yet in a higher 
degree they reflect praise on the eminent theologian himself, who could 
take so sincere an interest in a recent English work, which at that time 
had found but few readers in its own country. 

A review of this German translation appeared in the Allgemeine Litte- 
ratur-Zeitung of Halle, signed " Schnitzer." Some of the enlargements 
in the present edition partly meet the able and candid criticism which that 
article contained. 

f This is gathered from § lxiv., French translation of the Third Edition, 
by E. Littre. 



Xll PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

that the most recent opinions of many eminent scholars there are 
in the same direction. Comparing this tendency in the land of 
biblical criticism with the large, probably increasing, amount of 
unbelief in all classes around us, we are compelled to anticipate 
that the time is near, and that the spread of independent thinking 
will render it nearer, when no Christianity will remain but such as 
expresses the results of the higher moral powers implanted in man 
by nature. 

Whether the degree of merit, which Christianity possesses in this 
sense, be so high as to entitle it to be considered pre-eminently the 
religion of the wise and good, and to render the duration of this 
distinction probable during many future centuries, it is not pre- 
tended to decide in this work. The aim has been simply to investi- 
gate the historical origin of the religion, uninfluenced by speculations 
on the consequences. Change of names would be a minor one ; a 
result of greater concern is the disturbance of cherished principles 
and feelings which, in the present juncture of the history of religion, 
the transition from supernatural creeds must to a large extent 
occasion ; and the contemplation of this imparts gravity to researches 
which at no very distant period may be generally smiled upon as 
both frivolous and antiquated. Yet the general conviction, that 
truth in the end must be beneficial, need not be shaken in this 
instance by an imagined foresight of some appalling consequences. 
The observation of many readers will probably accord with that of 
the author, that the Deist is not wanting in thoughts which admit 
of the serene enjoyment of life, of fortitude in adversity, and of 
perseverance in unseen efforts to do good ; that neither Deism, 
Pantheism, nor even Atheism, indicate modes of thought incom- 
patible with uprightness and benevolence ; and that the real or 
affected horror, which it is still a prevailing custom to exhibit to- 
wards these names, would be better reserved for those of the selfish, 
the cruel, the bigot, and other tormentors of mankind. Although 
that species of philosophy which includes a religious faith, may, 
in the opinion of many, probably most, earnest thinkers, be sup- 
ported by the furthest advances of the intellect, and also be allied 
with the purest pleasures of imagination; although it be productive 



PKEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. Xlll 

of the most permanent mental tranquility, and, in some extreme 
cases, may probably be indispensable to preserve fortitude ; — yet 
a persuasion of the deep foundations on which the religious senti- 
ments rest, and an appreciation of their value, require neither the 
expression nor the feeling of alienation towards those who do not 
share those sentiments ; a moderate experience must convince us 
that theological belief, even of the simplest kind, and benevolence, 
do not necessarily exist in proportion to each other ; and that 
both a creed, and the want of one, may be met with in conjunction 
with that which irresistibly demands our sympathies, — a devotion 
to the cause of happiness on this earth. 

August. 1841. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Historical sketch, from the Babylonish captivity to the death of 
Jesus 1 

CHAPTER II. 
Historical sketch continued to the end of the first century . . iO 

CHAPTER III. 
On the date and credibility of the Gospel according to St. Matthew . 75 

CHAPTER IV. 
On the date and credibility of the Gospel according to St. Mark . . 100 

CHAPTER V. 
On the date and credibility of the Gospel according to St. Luke . .US 

CHAPTER VI. 
On the date and credibility of the Gospel according to St. John . . 137 

CHAPTER VII. 
Examination of the accounts of the Resurrection and Ascension . . 159 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Remarks on the other miracles in the four Gospels .... 196 

CHAPTER IX. 
General objections to the miracles of Jesus 222 



XVI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER X. 
Remarks on the miracles in the Acts of the Apostles 233 

CHAPTER XI. 
On the evidence afforded to the miracles by the apostolic writings . 217 

CHAPTER XII. 
On the prophecies 253 

CHAPTER XIII. 
On the parts of Isaiah supposed to relate to Christ .... 275 

CHAPTER XIV. 
On the book of Daniel 288 

CHAPTER XV. 
Whether Jesus foretold his own death and resurrection . . . 315 

CHAPTER XVI. 
On the character, views, and doctrine of Jesus 319 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Comparison of the precepts of Jesus with the Jewish writings . . 350 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Concluding reflections 369 

APPENDIX 381 



AN INQUIRY 



CONCERNING THE 



ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY. 



CHAPTER I. 

HISTOKICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY 
TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 

The Jewish nation, which was of considerable political importance 
in the days of David and Solomon, was much weakened, during the 
reigns of Ahaz and his successors, by the encroachments of the 
Assyrians, and extinguished, for a time, as a political power, by 
the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. [B. C. 588.] 

But the national feeling in a people of 800 years' standing, of 
peculiar manners, associations, and religious worship, survives the 
capture of their towns ; and, during each successive transportation 
of their tribes [B. C. 725-588], and their subsequent captivity at 
Babylon, the Jews consoled themselves with the hope of a speedy 
restoration to their own land*. They compensated themselves for 



* Jer. xxxii. 15, For thus saith the Lord of Hosts ; Houses, and fields, and 
vineyards, shall be possessed again in this land, xxxiii. 7, And I will cause 
the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build 
them as at first, xlvi. 27, But fear not thou. O my servant Jacob, and be 
not dismayed, O Israel ; for behold I will save thee from afar off, and thy 
seed from the land of their captivity, and Jacob shall return, and be in rest 
and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. (1. 19 ; Ezek. xxxvii. ; xxxix. 
25 ; xxvii. 25 ; Micah ii. 12.) Tobit xiv. 5, Afterwards they shall return from 
all places of their captivity, and build up Jerusalem gloriously, and the 
house of God shall be built in it for ever, with a glorious building, as the 
prophets have spoken thereof. 



Z HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

their present insignificance with the expectation of future great- 
ness ; * and their very sufferings were made a theme soothing to 
their vanity, by being considered, not as the effect of superior 
power on the part of their enemies, but as a paternal and cor- 
rective chastisement from their own God. j 

[B. C. 536.] When Cyrus permitted the small remnant of 
pure Jews to re-occupy their own land, and to re-build their temple 
and city,! their most extravagant hopes seemed about to be realized. 
A new sera opened upon them ; § they were in the way to take 
rank again amongst the nations ; and if this could be attained out 
of a state of general servitude, a patriotic Jew might easily believe 
his nation destined, in the end, to eclipse Egypt and Assyria, f 

Accordingly, in their writings about the time of the restoration, 
(and a large proportion of those called the prophets appear to be 
nearly of that date,)|| these topics occur in almost every page. 
The imagination and literary talents of the Jews had been much 
developed by their contact with the Chaldees and Persians, and 



* Obadiah 17, But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance — and there shall 
be holiness, and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions ; 18, And 
the house of Jacob sha.ll be a fixe, and the house of Esau for stubble ; — 21, 
And saviours shall come upon Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and 
the kingdom shall be the Lord's. Micah iv. ; Micah v. 8, And the remnant 
of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles as a lion among the beasts of the 
forest. Isaiah xlix. 18-26 ; lx. 12, For the nation and kingdom that will not 
serve thee shall perish : yea those nations shall be utterly wasted . . . The 
sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee ; and they 
shall call thee the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel . . . 
thy people also shall be all righteous ; they shall inherit the land for ever . . . 
a little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation ; I the 
Lord will hasten it in its time. 

f Ezekiel, passim, xxxix. 23 ; Micah i. 5, For the transgression of Jacob 
is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. Isaiah xlii. 24, Who gave 
Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? Did not the Lord, he against 
whom we have sinned 1 xlvii. 6, I was wroth with my people, and have 
given them into thine (Chaldea's) hand, xlviii. 10, Behold I have refined 
thee (Jacob), I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. Lam. iv. 22 ; 
Hosea xiv. 1 ; Daniel ix. 11. 

J By comparing Ezra i. 3, with 1 Esdras iv. 63, it is seen that the decree 
of Cyrus was not understood as limited to the temple. 

§ Haggai ii. 9, The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the 
former. Zech. i. 16-21 ; ii. 10-13. 

^f Isaiah xiv. 2, Israel shall take them captive, whose captives they were; 
and they shall rule over their oppressors. 

|| Haggai, B. C. 520 ; Zechariah, B. 0. 519. Many parts of the older pro- 
phets appear to be interpolations of the same time. (See Ezek. xxxix. 
23-29.) In chap. xiii. reasons will be given for considering Isaiah xl. chap, 
to the end, as written in the time of Cyrus. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 6 

naturally displayed themselves chiefly on such an exciting theme. 
Besides, the Jewish leaders would encourage their poets and 
orators to choose such subjects, in order to animate the people 
under difficulties. 

It is not surprising, then, to find in the poetic writings of the 
Old Testament extravagant descriptions of a kingdom of Israel 
which should cover the earth,* and of a great prince who should 
restore the throne of David.f The beautiful anticiptions which, 
under various forms, have arisen in widely remote nations, of the 
future perfection of the earth, \ were, in the minds of the Jews, 
blended in a peculiar manner with the hopes and fortunes of Israel. 
On this subject each prophet or poet indulged in his own fancies ; 
but one prevalent notion seems to have been, that this kingdom 



* Haggai ii. 22 ; Zech. ii. 21 ; Micah iv. 5 ; Isaiah ii. 2 ; Dan. vii. 13, 14. 

f Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24, And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he 
shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be 
their shepherd. And I the Lord will be then- God, and my servant David a 
prince among them, xxxvii. 22-26, And I will make them one nation in the 
land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all ; 
and they shall be no more two nations . . . and they shall dwell in the land 
that I have given unto Jacob my servant, and their children's children for 
ever, and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. (Kimchi says 
upon this test, The King Messiah is called David, because he will be of the 
seed of David.) 

Jer. xxiii. 5, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto 
David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall 
execute judgment and justice in the earth. 

Isaiah xxxii. 1, 18, Behold a king shall reign in righteousness . . . and my 
people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings. 

Jer. xxiii. 17, For thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man to 
sit upon the throne of Israel. 

The kings of Judah were called the Lord's anointed ; therefore the ex- 
pected restorer of their throne came to be described emphatically as the 
Anointed or Messiah : and it became a favourite literary amusement with 
the Jews to find passages of their scriptures applicable to him. To find 
oracles of the future was more interesting than to investigate critically the 
history of the past. Hence many passages were applied to the Messiah 
which originally referred to real personages, to personifications of their 
nation, or to subjects still more remote. Schoettgen gives a minute account 
of all the texts interpreted by the ancient Babbis concerning; the Messiah. 
Horae Heb. lib. 2. 

% It is not likely that Virgil had read Isaiah ; yet the resemblance between 
the ideas in his Pollio and those of the Hebrew poet has struck all readers. 
In the Voluspa, a Scandinavian poem quoted in the 4th fable of the Edda, 
there is an end of the ages and a conflagration of the world, succeeded by a 
new earth of eternal verdure and happiness. 



4 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

would be established, and their final triumph over the nations 
effected, not so much by military means, in which they were 
obviously deficient, as by some special intervention of their pro- 
tector, the God of Israel. It was supposed that the presence of 
the Deity would be then made manifest to them in a more visible 
manner than had been known hitherto, and that signs and wonders, 
more impressive and more public than those granted in the days 
of Moses, would at last proclaim to the whole world the connexion 
subsisting between God and his chosen people.* Hence this state 
of things came to be called popularly the Kingdom of God, or the 
Kingdom of Heaven. f 

The captivity and restoration were thought of less and less as 
events rolled on ; but the writings which they had occasioned 
remained amongst the Jews, a conspicuous part of their scanty 
literature. There is, indeed, in them so much of rich imagery 
and wild beauty, that they are to this day read with pleasure by 
those who look upon them merely as poetical relics ; it is no 
wonder, then, that they should have continued for centuries in the 
hearts and mouths of all patriotic Jews, and that, when sufficiently 
veiled by antiquity, the prophets, as well as the law, should have 
been reverenced as divine oracles. 

Events, however, did not correspond with these prophecies of 
Jewish greatness. With slow and painful efforts their temple and 



* Haggai ii. 6, 7, For thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Yet once it is a little 
while, and I will shake the heaven and the earth, and the sea, and the dry 
land ; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, 
and I will fill this house with glory. Zech. ix. 13, 14, When I have bent 
Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, Zion, 
against thy sons, Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man ; 
and the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the 
lightning; and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with 
whirlwinds of the south. Zech. xiv. 3, 4, Then shall the Lord go forth, and 
fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And 
his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before 
Jerusalem on the cast, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst 
thereof toward the east, and toward the west, and there shall be a very 
great valley ; and half the mountain shall remove toward the north, and 
half of it toward the south. Isaiah xxiv. 23, Then the moon shall be con- 
founded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount 
Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously. See also Zech. 
xii. 4-8; Zcphaniah iii. 8-20; Malachi iii. iv. ; Joel i. 15, ii. 27-32, iii. 1, 2, 
9-21 ; Eosea ii. 21-23 ; Ezck. xxxix. 21, 22. 

f Zech. xiv. 9, And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. Ezek. 
xxxvii. 23, So they shall be my people, and I will be their God. xxxiv. 30, 
31 ; Zech. viii. 8. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS, 

city were rebuilt under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and 
Nehemiah [B. C. 536 — 445] ; but they remained insignificant as 
a nation, and were successively tributary to the Persians and 
Macedonians, until the revolution effected by Judas Maccabseus. 
[B. C. 166.] Under him and the subsequent able princes of the 
Asmonaean race, they attained the rank of a respectable second- 
rate power, although inferior to tbe adjoining kingdoms of Syria 
and Egypt. But the Asmonaean dynasty grew weak from internal 
dissension ; and during the quarrel between Hyrcanus and Aristo- 
bulus, Jerusalem was taken by Pompey, who first imposed upon 
the Jews a Roman tribute. [B. C. 63.] Under the patronage of 
the Romans, Herod the Idumean obtained the sovereignty, [B. C. 
40,] to the exclusion of the native Asmona^an family ; and, 
although generally hateful to the Jews as a heathen and usurper, 
maintained by a vigorous government the respectability of the 
nation. After his death, [B. C. 3,] however, the Jews were com- 
pelled to make another step towards national servitude, by the 
appointment of Roman governors of Judea, [A. D. 6 or 7,] who 
exercised a jurisdiction superior to that of the family of Herod, 
and of the Jewish sanhedrim. 

Throughout all these changes, the Kingdom of Heaven may be 
seen to have been from time to time a popular idea,* and during 
the Roman encroachments, it revived in full force. The romantic 
exploits of Maccabams had renewed the Jews' spirit of independ- 
ence, and encouraged the hope that the holy nation might, at 
length, in its turn, succeed Assyria, Persia, and Macedonia, in the 



* Tobit xiii. 15, 18, Let my soul bless God the great king. For Jeru- 
salem shall be built up with sapphires, and emeralds, and precious stone : 
thy walls, and towers, and battlements, with pure gold. And the streets of 
Jerusalem shall be pared with beryl, and carbuncle, and the stones of Ophir ; 
and all her streets shall say Alleluia ! 

Josephus says that the Pharisees persuaded Pheroras, Herod's brother, that 
he was the predicted king, who would have all things in his power. Antiq. 
xvii. i. About B. C. 4. 

Targuni Micah iv. 7. (written probably in the century before Christ,) And 
the kingdom of Heaven shall be revealed to them on Mount Zion, from now 
and for ever. 

In the preaching of John the Baptist (Matt. iii. 2) the Kingdom is intro- 
duced without any explanation, as a well-known idea. 

Josephus. War, vi. ch. 6. "What did most elevate them in undertaking 
this war [A. D. 66-70] was an ambiguous oracle found in their sacred 
writings, how about that time one from their country should become 
governor of the habitable earth." The testimonies of Tacitus and Sueto- 
nius might be founded on this passage of Josephus. 



6 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM TIIE BABYLONISH 

empire of the world. The period mentioned in an obscure pro- 
phecy relating to the Messiah appeared to expire near the close of 
the Asmonean dynasty ;* but after waiting through the long reign 
of Herod, the people of God seemed about to pass into a more 
permanent servitude to the Gentiles. The Jewish princes and 
aristocracy were easily soothed into submission to their powerful 
masters, who allowed them to retain many of their privileges ; but 
the indignation of the populace broke out in continual tumults and 
insurrections, which the Roman governor, aided by the priests 
and nobles, usually quickly suppressed. In one of these, soon 
after the accession of Archelaus, the multitude of Galileans, Idu- 
means, and provincials from beyond Jordan, assembled at Jerusa- 
lem for the feast of Pentecost, succeeded in distressing the Roman 
legion under Sabinus to such a degree, as to give the idea that 
by a simultaneous effort the Eomans might be overcome. This 
attempt was followed by the revolts of Judas the son of Ezekias 
at Sepphoris in Galilee, of Simon the slave of Herod, of Ath- 
ronges, and many other adventurers, assuming the title of king, 
which the populace were ready to allow to almost any one having 
the courage to claim it.j But the most remarkable insurrection 
was that of Judas the Galilean or Gaulonite, who persuaded the 
Galileans to resist an extraordinary taxation imposed by Cyrenius, 
the Roman Governor of Syria. 

The account which we have of Judas the Galilean comes from 
Josephus, who, being himself a noble and a conservative, disliked 
all attempts at insurrection and innovation ; yet through his 
angry comments it is easy to perceive that Judas was a man of 
great talent, and that he left a deep impression on the minds of 
his countrymen ; for he is characterized as being not only the 
leading revolter against the Romans, but also the head of a fourth 
philosophic sect, which occasioned the alteration of the customs 



* The seventy weeks of Daniel, ix. 24, ended B. C. 46, counting from the 
decree of Cyrus. This would lead the Jews about that time to look more 
(■.■inc. I ly for their Messiah. The direct evidence of this application of the 
prophecy ai thai time is not very ample; but Schoettgen lias o 
enough from the Talmudists to strengthen very materially the vague tes- 
timony of Josephus, and the intrinsic probability. Sanhedrin, fol. !>7. i. 
'• Our Rabbins delivered ; In that roeelt, when the Son of David cometh, and 
in his first year, that will be fulfilled which is written Amos iv. 7, &c." See 
De Messia in Dan. ix. 24. 

f "And aowJudeawas full of robberies; and as the several companies 
of the seditious Lighted upon any one to head them, he was created a king 
immediately, in order to do mischief Lo the public." — Ant. xvii. 10. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. / 

of Moses,* and, though agreeing with most of the pharisaic notions 
of religion, had an inviolable attachment to liberty, saying that 
God was to be their only ruler and lord. Judas was therefore both 
a political and religious reformer ; and as his sentiments spread 
extensively among the Galileans, these provincials came to be 
looked upon with suspicion by the Eomans for their disaffection to 
the tribute, and by the other Jews for their liberalism or heresy in 
religion. 

Even before the time of Judas, the Jews had begun to allow 
themselves free discussion on the subject of their religion. The 
system of Moses, intended for a secluded people, was found to be 
inconsistent, in many points, with the spirit of the age, when they 
were forced into continual contact with other nations. From the 
restoration of the laws of Moses by Maccabams, all the efforts of 
the strict Mosaic party were unable to stop the influx of the 
customs and notions of the Greeks, and to prevent the admixture 
of Gentile philosophies with the law and the prophets. As early 
as in the priesthood of Jonathan Apphus, [B. C. 161,] the Jews 
were divided into three principal sects of Sadducees, Pharisees, 
and Essenes, of which the latter, consisting chiefly of the lower 
ranks, presents a remarkable picture of simplicity and moral purity, 
tinctured by the austere spirit of monachism. The principles of 
benevolence, morality, and religion, being implanted in the nature 
of man, it is natural that some of those combinations for common 
objects which men love to form together, should be directed to the 
cultivation and advancement of these principles. Hence there 
have frequently been seen, in different ages of the world, societies 
attempting to exhibit schools of perfect virtue, and to attain the 
highest possible degrees of temperance, benevolence, and piety. 
In the Essene sect we see an example of such a society influenced 
by a religion of Monotheism, and by the national literature already 
described. The condition of the three sects, and especially of the 



* Less stress should be laid upon this as a characteristic of the party of 
Judas, than upon the next-mentioned doctrine. The passage of Josephus, 
which will be quoted, might signify that Judas occasioned the alteration of 
the ancient customs, Indirectly, by the fatal consequences of his other main 
doctrines, rather than by inculcating directly the abrogation of the Mosaic 
law. Yet the accusation itself, and the complaint of the great novelty of 
Judas's teaching, may warrant the conjecture that there was something in 
it which was considered as opposed to the permanence of the Mosaic code. 
The conduct of the Zealots, Sicarii, and other ferocious bandits, into whom the 
followers of Judas degenerated in later times, was marked by frequent in- 
stances of disrespect to the law. War, iv. 3, 6 ; iv. 5, 5 ; iv. 6, 3 : *"" ° 1 



8 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

Essenes, forms such an interesting and important feature in the 
Jewish history at the period we are now arrived at, that it is worth 
while to transcribe the accounts of them given by Josephus and 
Philo. 

Josephus says, ( War, ii. ch. 7,) " For there are three philoso- 
phical sects among the Jews. The followers of the first of whom 
are the Pharisees, of the second the Sadducees, and the third sect, 
which pretends to a severer discipline, is called Essenes. These 
are Jews by birth, and they cherish mutual love beyond other men. 
They reject pleasure as evil ; and they look upon temperance and 
a conquest over the passions as the greatest virtue. There pre- 
vails among them a contempt of marriage ; but they receive the 
children of others, and educate them as their own, while yet tender 
and susceptible of instruction. They do not indeed abolish the 
marriage institution, as being necessary to perpetuate the succes- 
sion of mankind ; but they guard against the immodesty of the 
women, who, they think, in no instance preserve their fidelity to 
one man. 

" The Essenes despise riches, and are so liberal as to excite our 
admiration. Nor can any be found amongst them who is more 
wealthy than the rest ; for it is a law with them, that those who 
join their order should distribute their possessions among the 
members, the property of each being added to that of the rest, as 
being all brethren. They deem oil as a pollution, and wipe it off, 
should any inadvertently touch them, for they think it an ornament 
to be plain, and always to wear white apparel. They appoint 
stewards to superintend the common interests ; and these have no 
other employment than to consult the good of each member with- 
out distinction. 

" This sect is not confined to one city, but many of them dwell 
in every city, and if any of their sect come from other places, what 
they have lies open for them, just as if it were their own ; and 
they go in to such as they never knew before, as if they had been 
ever so long acquainted with them. For which reason they carry 
nothing with them when they travel into remote parts, though still 
they take their weapons with them for fear of thieves. Accordingly 
there is, in every city where they live, one appointed particularly 
to take care of strangers, and to provide garments and other neces- 
saries for them. But the habit and management of their bodies is 
such as children use who are in fear of their masters. Nor do 
they allow of the change of gaiments, or of shoes, till they be 
first entirely torn to pieces, or worn out by time. Nor do they 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. y 

either buy or sell anything to one another ; but every one of 
them gives what he hath to him that wanteth it, and receives from 
him again in lieu of it what may be convenient for himself : and 
although there be no requital made, they are fully allowed to take 
what they want of whomsoever they please. 

" And as for their piety towards God, it is very extraordinary ; 
for before sun-rising they speak not a word about profane matters, 
but put up certain prayers which they have received from their 
forefathers, as if they made a supplication for its rising. After 
this, every one of them is sent away by their curators, to exercise 
some of their arts wherein they are skilled, in which they labour 
with great diligence till the fifth hour. After which they assemble 
themselves together again into one place ; and when they have 
clothed themselves in white veils, they then bathe their bodies in 
cold water. And after this purification is over, they every one 
meet together in an apartment of their own, into which it is not 
permitted to any of another sect to enter ; while they go, after a 
pure manner, into the dining-room, as into a certain holy temple, 
and quietly set themselves down ; upon which the baker lays them 
loaves in order ; the cook also brings a single plate of one sort of 
food, and sets it before every one of them ; but a priest says grace 
before meat, and it is unlawful for any one to taste of the food 
before grace is said. The same priest, when he hath dined, says 
grace again after meat : and when they begin and when they end, 
they praise God, as him that bestows their food upon them ; after 
which they lay aside their (white) garments, and betake themselves 
to their labours again till the evening ; then they return home to 
supper, after the same manner ; and if there be any strangers there, 
tliey sit down with them. Nor is there ever any clamour or dis- 
turbance to pollute their house, but they give every one leave to 
speak in their turn ; which silence, thus kept in their house, 
appears to foreigners like some tremendous mystery, the cause of 
which is that perpetual sobriety they exercise, and the same 
settled measure of meat and drink that is allotted to them, and 
that such as is abundantly sufficient for them. 

" And truly as for other things, they do nothing but according 
to the injunction of their curators : only these two things are done 
among them at every one's own free will, which are, to assist those 
who want it, and to show mercy ; for they are permitted of their 
own accord to afford succour to such as deserve it when they stand 
in need of it, and to bestow food on those who are in distress ; but 
they cannot give anything to their kindred without the curators. 



10 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

They dispense their anger after a just manner, and restrain their 
passion. They are eminent for fidelity, and tire the ministers of 
peace ; whatsoever they say also is firmer than an oath : but 
swearing is avoided by them, and they esteem it worse than per- 
jury ; for they say, that he who cannot be believed without 
(swearing by) God is already condemned. They also take great 
pains in studying the writings of the ancients, and choose out of 
them what is most for the advantage of their soul and body ; and 
they inquire after such roots and medicinal stones as may cure 
their distempers. 

" But now if any one hath a mind to come over to their sect, 
he is not immediately admitted, but he is prescribed the same 
method of living which they use for a year, while he continues 
excluded ; and they give him a small hatchet, and the foremen- 
tioned girdle, and the white garment. And when he hath given 
evidence, during that time, that he can observe their temperance, 
he approaches nearer to their way of living, and is made a par- 
taker of the waters of purification : yet is he not even now 
admitted to live with them ; for after this demonstration of his 
fortitude, his temper is tried two years more, and, if he appears to 
be worthy, they then admit him into their society. And before he 
is allowed to touch their common food, he is obliged to take tre- 
mendous oaths, that, in the first place, he will exercise piety to- 
wards God ; and then that he will observe justice towards men ; 
and that he will do no harm to any one, either of his own accord, 
or by the command of others ; that he will always hate the wicked, 
and be assistant to the righteous ; that he will ever show fidelity 
to all men, and especially to those in authority, because no one 
obtains the government without God's assistance ; and if he be in 
authority, he will at no time whatever abuse his authority, nor 
endeavour to outshine his subjects, either in his garments or any 
other finery ; that he will be perpetually a lover of truth, and pro- 
pose to himself to reprove those that tell lies ; that he will keep 
his hands clear from theft, and his soul from unlawful gains ; and 
that he will neither conceal any thing from those of his own sect, 
nor discover any of their doctrines to others, no, not though any one 
should compel him so to do at the hazard of his life. Moreover 
he swears to communicate their doctrines to no one any otherwise 
than as he received them himself; that he will abstain from rob- 
bery, and will equally preserve the books belonging to their sect, 
and the names of the angels. These are the oaths by which they 
secure their proselytes to themselves. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 11 

" But for those that are catight in any heinous sins, they cast 
them out of their society ; and he who is thus separated from them 
does often die after a miserable manner ; for as he is bound by the 
oath he hath taken, and by the customs he hath been engaged in, 
he is not at liberty to partake of that food that he meets with else- 
where, but is forced to eat grass, and to famish his body with 
hunger till he perish ; for which reason they receive many of them 
again when they are at the last gasp, out of compassion to them, 
as thinking the miseries they have endured till they came to the 
very brink of death to be a sufficient punishment for the sins they 
had been guilty of. 

" But in the judgments they exercise they are most accurate 
and just ; nor do they pass sentence by the votes of a court that 
is fewer than a hundred. And as to what is once determined by 
that number, it is unalterable. What they most of all honour, 
after God himself, is the name of their legislator, whom, if any one 
blaspheme, he is punished capitally. They also think it a good 
thing to obey their elders, and the major part. Accordingly, if ten 
of them be sitting together, no one of them will speak while the 
other nine are against it. Moreover, they are stricter than any 
other of the Jews in resting from their labours on the seventh day ; 
for they not only get their food ready the day before, that they 
may not be obliged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not 
remove any vessel out of its place. 

" Now, after the time that their preparatory trial is over, they 
are parted into four classes ; and so far are the juniors inferior to 
the seniors, that if the seniors should be touched by the juniors, 
they must wash themselves, as if they had intermixed themselves 
with the company of a foreigner. They are long-lived also ; inso- 
much that many of them live above a hundred years, by means of 
the simplicity of their diet ; nay, as I think, by means of the 
regular course of life they observe also. They contemn the 
miseries of life, and are above pain, by the generosity of their 
mind. And as for death, if it will be for their glory, they esteem 
it better than living always ; and indeed our war with the Romans 
gave abundant evidence what great souls they had in their trials, 
wherein, although they were tortured and distorted, burnt and torn 
to pieces, and went through all kinds of instruments of torment, 
that they might be forced either to blaspheme their legislator, or 
to eat what was forbidden them, yet they could not be made to do 
either of them, no, nor once to flatter their tormentors, or to shed 
a tear ; but they smiled in their very pains, and laughed those to 



12 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

scorn who inflicted the torments upon them, and resigned up their 
souls with great alacrity, as expecting to receive them again. 

" For their doctrine is this : That bodies are corruptible, and 
that the matter they are made of is not permanent ; but that the 
souls are immortal, and continue for ever ; and that they come out 
of the most subtile air, and are united to their bodies as in prisons, 
into which they are drawn by a certain natural enticement ; but 
that when they are set free from the bonds of the flesh, they then, 
as released from a long bondage, rejoice and mount upward. And 
this is like the opinion of the Greeks, that good souls have their 
habitations beyond the ocean, in a region that is neither oppressed 
with storms of rain or snow, or with intense heat, but that this 
place is such as is refreshed by the gentle breathing of a west 
wind, that is perpetually blowing from the ocean ; while they allot 
to bad souls a dark and tempestuous den, full of never-ceasing 
punishments. And indeed the Greeks seem to me to have followed 
the same notion, when they allot the islands of the blessed to their 
brave men, whom they call heroes and demi-gods ; and to the 
souls of the wicked, the region of the ungodly, in Hades, where 
their fables relate that certain persons, such as Sisyphus, and Tan- 
talus, and Ixion, and Tityus, are punished ; which is built on this 
first supposition, that souls are immortal ; and thence are those 
exhortations to virtue and dehortations from wickedness collected ; 
whereby good men are bettered in the conduct of their life, by the 
hope they have of reward after their death, and whereby the vehe- 
ment inclinations of bad men to vice are restrained by the fear and 
expectation they are in, that, although they should lie concealed in 
this life, they should suffer immortal punishment after their death. 
These are the divine doctrines of the Essenes about the soul, which 
lay an unavoidable bait for such as have once had a taste of their 
philosophy. 

" There are also those among them who undertake to foretell 
things to come by reading the holy books, and using several sorts 
of purifications, and being perpetually conversant in the discourses 
of the prophets ; and it is but seldom that they miss in their 
predictions. 

" Moreover, there is another order of Essenes, who agree with 
the rest as to their way of living, and customs, and laws, but differ 
from them in the point of marriage, as thinking that by not mar- 
rying they cut off the principal part of human life, which is the 
prospect of succession ; nay, rather, that if all men should be of 
the same opinion, the whole race of mankind would fail." 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 13 

Josephus, in another place, gives a concise account of the 
Essenes, thus : — 

" The doctrine of the Essenes is this : That all things are best 
ascribed to God. They teach the immortality of souls, and esteem 
that the rewards of righteousness are to be earnestly striven for ; 
and when they send what they have dedicated to God into the 
temple, they do not offer sacrifices, because they have more pure 
lustrations of their own ; on which account they are excluded from 
the common court of the temple, but offer their sacrifices them- 
selves ; yet is their course of life better than that of other men, 
and they entirely addict themselves to husbandry. It also deserves 
our admiration, how much they exceed all other men that addict 
themselves to virtue, and this in righteousness ; and indeed to such 
a degree, that as it hath never appeared among any other men, 
neither Greeks, nor barbarians, no, not for a little time, so hath it 
endured a long while among them. This is demonstrated by that 
institution of theirs, which will not suffer anything to hinder them 
from having all things in common ; so that a rich man enjoys no 
more of his own wealth than he who hath nothing at all. There 
are about four thousand men that live in this way, and neither 
marry wives, nor are desirous to keep servants, as thinking the 
latter tempts men to be unjust, and the former gives the handle to 
domestic quarrels ; but as they live by themselves, they minister 
one to another. They also appoint certain stewards to receive the 
incomes of their revenues, and of the fruits of the ground ; such as 
are good men and priests, who are to get their corn and their food 
ready for them. They none of them differ from others of the 
Essenes in their way of living, but do the most resemble those 
Dacae who are called Polista? (dwellers in cities)." — Ajitiq. 
xviii. c. 1. 

Philo gives a more minute account of the Essenes, and in a still 
more panegyrical style. The following are a few extracts : — 

" Palestine and Syria are not unproductive of honourable and 
good men, but are occupied by numbers, not inconsiderable, com- 
pared even with the very populous nation of the Jews. These, 
exceeding four thousand, are called Essenes, which name, though 
not, in my opinion, formed by strict analogy, corresponds in Greek 
to the word ' holy.' For they have attained the highest holiness 
in the worship of God, and that not by sacrificing animals, but by 
cultivating purity of heart. They live principally in villages. 
Some cultivate the ground; others pursue the arts of peace, and 
such employments as are beneficial to themselves without injury to 



14 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

their neighbours. They are the only people who, though destitute 
of money and possessions, felicitate themselves as rich, deeming 
riches to consist in frugality and contentment. Among them no 
one manufactures darts, arrows, or weapons of war. They decline 
trade, commerce, and navigation, as incentives to covetousness ; nor 
have they any slaves among them, but all are free, and all in their 
turn administer to others. They condemn the owners of slaves as 
tyrants, who violate the principles of justice and equality. 

" As to learning, they leave that branch of it' which is called 
logic, as not necessary to the acquisition of virtue, to fierce dispu- 
tants about words ; and cultivate natural philosophy only so far as 
respects the existence of God and the creation of the universe: 
other parts of natural knowledge they give up to vain and subtle 
metaphysicians, as really surpassing the powers of man. But 
moral philosophy they eagerly study, conformably to the esta- 
blished laws of their country, the excellence of which the human 
mind can hardly comprehend without the inspiration of God. 

" These laws they study at all times, but more especially on the 
Sabbath. Regarding the seventh day as holy, they abstain on it 
from all other works, and assemble in those sacred places which 
are called Synagogues, arranging themselves according to their age, 
the younger below his senior, with a deportment grave, becoming, 
and attentive. Then one of them, taking the Bible, reads a por- 
tion of it, the obscure parts of which are explained by another more 
skilful person. For most of the Scriptures they interpret in that 
symbolical sense which they have zealously copied from the 
patriarchs ; and the subjects of instruction are piety, holiness, 
righteousness ; domestic and political economy ; the knowledge of 
things really good, bad, and indifferent; what objects ought to be 
pursued, and what to be avoided. In discussing these topics, the 
ends which they have in view, and to which they refer as so many 
rules to guide them, are the love of God, the love of virtue, and 
the love of man. Of their love to God they give innumerable 
proofs by leading a life of continued purity, unstained by oaths and 
falsehoods, by regarding him as the author of every good, and the 
cause of no evil. They evince their attachment to virtue by their 
freedom from avarice, from ambition, from sensual pleasure ; by 
their temperance and patience; by their frugality, simplicity, and 
contentment; by their humility, their regard to the laws, and other 
similar virtues. Their love to man is evinced by their benignity, 
their equity, and their liberality, of which it is not improper to give 
a short account, though no language can adequately describe it. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 15 

" In the first place, there exists among them no house, however 
private, which is not open to the reception of all the rest, and not 
only the members of the same society assemble under the same 
domestic roof, but even strangers of the same persuasion have free 
admission to join them. There is but one treasure, whence all 
derive subsistence ; and not only their provisions, but their clothes 
are common property. Such mode of living under the same roof, 
and of dieting at the same table, cannot, in fact, be proved to have 
been adopted by any other description of men. 

" The sick are not despised or neglected, but live in ease and 
affluence, receiving from the treasury whatever their disorder or their 
exigencies require. The aged, too, among them, are loved, revered, 
and attended as parents by affectionate children ; and a thousand 
hands and hearts prop their tottering years with comforts of every 
kind. Such are the champions of virtue, which philosophy, with- 
out the parade of Grecian oratory, produces, proposing, as the end 
of their institutions, the performance of those laudable actions 
which destroy slavery, and render freedom invincible. 

" This effect is evinced by the many powerful men who rise 
against the Essenes in their own country, in consequence of differ- 
ing from them in principles and sentiments. Some of these 
persecutors, being eager to surpass the fierceness of untamed 
beasts, omit no measure that may gratify their cruelty ; and 
they cease not to sacrifice whole flocks of those within their power ; 
or, like butchers, to tear their limbs in pieces, until themselves are 
brought to that justice, which superintends the affairs of men. Yet 
not one of these furious persecutors has been able to substantiate 
any accusation against this band of holy men. On the other hand, 
all men, captivated by their integrity and honour, unite with them 
as those who truly enjoy the freedom and independence of nature, 
admiring their communion and liberality, which language cannot 
describe, and which is the surest pledge of a perfect and happy 
life." 

Philo then describes the Essenes who embraced the contemplative 
life, and were called Therapeuta?, or healers, because they professed 
to cure men's minds of vices and all disorders. " The persons who 
profess this art are seized by the love of heaven, being filled with 
enthusiasm to see the supreme object of desire. Thinking them- 
selves already dead to the world, they desire only a blessed im- 
mortal existence. They appoint their heirs, and flee without a 
look behind, bidding farewell to brothers, sons, parents, and wives. 
They fix their habitations on the outside of cities, in gardens and 



16 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONI8H 

villages, not from a religious hatred of mankind, but to avoid a 
pernicious intercourse with those who differ from them in opinions 
and manners. This society now prevails throughout the habitable 
earth, but more particularly in Egypt, about Alexandria, and 
beyond the lake Maria. In each house is an apartment called a 
sanctuary or monastery, into which they bring only the laws, the 
divinely inspired prophets, the psalms, with such other writings as 
enlarge their knowledge and perfect their piety. The idea of God 
is ever present to their thoughts, so that their imagination dwells, 
even in sleep, upon the beauty of his attributes ; many of them 
therefore deliver magnificent visions, suggested by their sacred 
philosophy in the hours of repose . . . They spend the whole interval 
from morning to evening in religious exercises, reading the holy 
scriptures, and unfolding their symbolical meaning according to that 
mode of interpretation which they have derived from their fathers. 
For the words, they conceive, though expressing a literal sense, 
convey also a figurative sense addressed to the understanding. 
They possess also the commentaries of those sages who, being the 
founders of the sect, left behind them numerous monuments of the 
allegorical style. These they use as models of allegory and com- 
position ; and compose in honour of God psalms and hymns, in all 
the variety of measures which the solemnity of religion admits . . . 
On the seventh day, having collected into one assembly, one of the 
elders addresses them with grave looks, being not desirous to dis- 
play powers of language, but to express moral truths thoroughly 
digested, so as to remain lasting principles of conduct . . . They eat 
no food more costly than coarse bread seasoned with salt, to which 
the more delicate add hyssop ; and drink no liquid but the clear 
water of the stream. Their chief object is to practise humility, 
being convinced that as falsehood is the root of pride, freedom from 
pride is the offspring of truth."* 

The chief features of the sect of the Pharisees were, their main- 
tenance of the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, their 
adoption of an oral law preserved by tradition, in addition to the 



* Philo being an elderly man, and of established reputation for learning, 
when he was sent at the head of the embassy from the Alexandrian Jews to 
Caligula, A. D. 39, or 40, his book was most likely written before that time. 
It is therefore not probable that he was describing the followers of Jesus 
under the title of Essenes. His description certainly cannot be limited to 
them ; for he evidently speaks of the Essenes as of an old established sect, 
and in one place mentions their ancient leaders. Joscphus says, distinctly, 
that the sect existed in the time of Jonathan Apphus, B.C. 161. A/itiq. 






CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 17 



written law of Moses, and their profession of superior sanctity, 
evidenced by many self-imposed austerities. In this last respect, 
they somewhat resembled the Essenes ; but with this striking 
difference, that whilst the latter simple and lowly sect did in earnest 
sincerity renounce the more glaring vanities of life, and endeavour 
to find their highest good in the practice of virtue and the contem- 
plation of heaven, the Pharisees skilfully made their spiritual 
tendencies the means of securing also more firmly the advantages 
of earth. During the greater part of the Asmonean reigns,* they 
had been the predominant party in the state, and the long tenure 
of power had rendered the tact of the politician a more real deter- 
mining influence with them, than the zeal of the bigot, or at least 
accustomed them readily to restrain this zeal within the limits 
dictated by policy or interest. Hence the efforts of this party 
during the Roman domination were generally conservative ; f they 
might recognize as speculative truth whatever could be deduced 
from the law and the prophets, but took care not to be led by any 
arguments of this kind to countenance acts which in ordinary 
calculation might entail their own ruin and that of the nation. | 



xiii. 5, 9. Prideaux shows that they were probably descended from the 
Assideans, who devoted themselves volimtarily to the law. 1 Mac. ii. 42. 
Pliny speaks of the Essenes as of a sect who renewed their numbers without 
marriage by the reception of new comers ; " and thus for several thousands 
of years, this people is perpetually propagated without any being born among 
them." — Lib. 5, cap. 17. See Prid. Conn, part ii. book 5. All that has been 
said in later times concerning the Essenes and Therapeutae. proceeds from 
the extracts from Philo, Josephus, and Pliny. 

Among the Jews, a man was called old at the age of seventy. Pirke 
Aboth, cap. v. 

* In the first part of the reign of John Hyrcanus, Antiq. xiii. 10 ; in that 
of Alexander Jannseus, xiii. 15 ; of Alexandra, xiii. 16 ; of Herod, xv. 1 ; xvii. 
2 ; and doubtless to a great extent during the intervals. 

f " The Pharisees are for the exercise of concord and regard for the pub- 
lic." — War, ii. 8, 14. They endeavoured to pacify the people under Floras. 
War, ii. 17, 3. 

% According to Josephus, himself a Pharisee, they were for the most part 
a very reasonable and moderate sect. " On account of which doctrines 
(future rewards and punishments) they are able greatly to persuade the body 
of the people ; and whatsoever they do about divine worship, prayers, and 
sacrifices, they perform them according to their direction ; insomuch that 
the cities gave great attestations to them on account of their entire virtuous 
conduct, both in the actions of their lives, and their discourses also." — 
Antiq. xviii. 1, 1. See also xiii. 10, 6. On one occasion however, viz. in 
relating an incident in the reign of Herod, he gives them a more unfavour- 
able character. " There was a certain sect of men that were Jews, who 






18 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

The Sadducees seem to have been a small body of freethinkers, 
amongst the highest ranks, unpopular on account of their tenets, 
or want of tenets, of haughty and unconciliating demeanour, and 
almost devoid of either religious or political zeal. Hence, although 
sometimes from their rank occupying the highest dignities, their 
influence with the people was so feeble, that when men of this sect 
entered into public stations, they not unfrequently conformed in 
appearance to the Pharisaic sect. (Antiq. xviii. 1,4; xiii. 10, 6.) 
They rejected all the unwritten traditions which the Pharisees had 
added to the law, and disbelieved a future state. They seem to 
have admitted no more belief than was strictly required by the 
ancient and legal Jewish creed, viz. acknowledgment of Jehovah, 
and obedience to the written law of Moses. Yet they were not 
averse to free metaphysical inquiry in the schools. 

The introduction of a fourth sect by Judas the Galilean, so 
important in the estimation of Josephus, from the extent to which 
it spread, and the results which it occasioned, as to warrant the 
most impassioned language in speaking of its rise, is a very 
remarkable feature at this point of Jewish history. I quote all 
that Josephus says concerning it. After relating that Coponius 
was sent as the first Eoman procurator, he says, " Moreover 
Cyrenius (the president of Syria,) came himself into Judea, which 
was now added to the province of Syria, to take an account of 
their substance and to dispose of Archelaus's money ; but the Jews, 
although at the beginning they took the report of a taxation 
heinously, yet did they leave off any farther opposition to it, by 
the persuasion of Joazar, who was the son of Boethus, and high 
priest. So they, being over persuaded by Joazar's words, gave an 
account of their estates, without any dispute about it ; yet there 
was one Judas, a Gaulonite, of a city whose name was Gamala, 
who, taking with him Sadduc, a Pharisee, became zealous to draw 



valued themselves highly upon the exact skill they had in the law of their 
fathers, and made men believe they were highly favoured by God, by whom 
this set of women were inveigled. They are those that are called the sect of 
the Pharisees, who were in a capacity of greatly opposing kings. A cunning 
sect they were, and soon elevated to a pitch of open righting and doing mis- 
chief." — Antiq. xvii. 2, 4. This was at a comparatively early period, about 
15 years B. C. ; afterwards their own important share in the burden of 
government probably moderated their restlessness. From these several allu- 
sions to the Pharisees by the same writer, it. may be seen how naturally they 
might be represented, by partisans, as models of virtue, and by opponents, 
as intriguing hypocrites. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 19 

them to a revolt, who both said that this taxation was no better 
than an introclnction to slavery, and exhorted the nation to assert 
their liberty ; as if they could procure them happiness and security 
for what they possessed, and an assured enjoyment of still greater 
good, which was that of the honour and glory they would thereby 
acquire for magnanimity. They also said that God would not 
otherwise be assisting to them, than upon their joining with one 
another in such councils as might be successful, and for their 
own advantage ; and this especially, if they would set about great 
exploits, and not grow weary in executing the same ; so men 
received what they said with pleasure, and this bold attempt pro- 
ceeded to a great height. All sorts of misfortunes also sprang 
from these men, and the nation was infected with this doctrine to 
an incredible degree ; one violent war came upon us after another, 
and we lost our friends, who used to alleviate our pains ; there 
were also very great robberies and murders of our principal men. 
This was done in pretence indeed for the public welfare, but in 
reality for the hopes of gain to themselves ; whence arose seditions, 
and from them murders of men, which sometimes fell upon those 
of their own people, (by the madness of these men towards one 
another, while their desire was that none of the adverse party 
might be left,) and sometimes on their enemies ; a famine also 
coming upon us, reduced us to the last degree of despair, as did 
also the taking and demolishing of cities ; nay, the sedition at last 
increased so high, that the very temple of God was burnt down by 
their enemy's fire. Such were the consequences of this, that the 
customs of our fathers were altered, and such a change was made, 
as added a mighty weight towards bringing all to destruction, 
which these men occasioned by thus conspiring together ; for Judas 
and Sadduc, who excited a fourth philosophic sect among us, and 
had a great many followers therein, filled our civil government with 
tumults at present, and laid the foundation of our future miseries, 
by this system of philosophy, which ice were hefore unacquainted 
ivithal ; concerning which I shall discourse a little, and this the 
rather, because the infection which spread thence among the younger 
sort, who were zealous for it, brought the public to destruction." 

His description of the other three sects follows here, after which 
he returns to speak of Judas thus : " But of the fourth sect of 
Jewish philosophy, Judas the Galilean was the author. These 
men agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions ; but they 
have an inviolable attachment to liberty ; and say that God is to 
be their only ruler and Lord (evidently the equivalent of the ' King- 






20 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

doni of God, or of Heaven'). They also do not value dying any 
kind of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their relations 
and friends, nor can any such fear make them call any man Lord ; 
and since this immovable resolution of theirs is well known to a 
great many, I shall speak no farther about that matter ; nor am I 
afraid that anything I have said of them should be disbelieved, 
but rather fear, that what I have said is beneath the resolution 
they show when they undergo pain ; and it was in Gessius Florus's* 
time that the nation began to grow mad with this distemper, who 
was our procurator, and who occasioned the Jews to go wild with 
it by the abuse of his authority, and to make them revolt from the 
Eomans ; and these are the sects of Jewish philosophy." — Antiq. 
xviii. 1. In the corresponding part of his history of the wars, he 
gives a more brief account thus : " And now the part of Judea 
belonging to Archelaus was reduced into a province, and Coponius, 
one of the equestrian order among the Eomans, was sent as a pro- 
curator, having the power of life and death put into his hands by 
Ceesar. Under his administration it was that a certain Galilean, 
named Judas, prevailed with his countrymen to revolt ; and said 
they were cowards if they would endure to pay a tax to the 
Eomans, and would, after God, submit to mortal men as their 
lords. This man was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own, and 
was not at all like the rest of those their leaders." f 



* Josephus evidently means that it was in the time of Floras that the 
notions with which Judas had begun to infect the nation 58 years previ- 
ously, and which had been growing to maturity, first showed their fruits in 
general insurrection. 

f The other incidental notices which I can find in Josephus respecting 
Judas are as follows : — 

Antiq. xx. 5, 2. In giving the history of the procuratorship of Tiberius 
Alexander, (A. D. 46 — 48,) he says, "And besides this, the sons of Judas of 
Galilee were now slain ; I mean of that Judas who caused the people to 
revolt, when Cyrenius came to take an account of the estates of the Jews, 
as we have shown in a foregoing book. The names of those sons were James 
and Simon, whom Alexander commanded to be crucified." 

War, ii. 17, 8. In relating the beginning of the war about A. D. 66, he 
mentions the sedition and death of " one Manahem the son of Judas that 
was called the Galilean, who was a very cunning sophister, and had formerly 
reproached the Jews under Cyrenius, that after God they were subject to the 
Eomans." War, vii. 8, 1. " It was one Eleazar, a potent man, and the com- 
mander of these Sicarii that had seized upon it (the fortress of Massada). 
He was a descendant from that Judas who had persuaded abundance of the 
Jews, as we have formerly related, not to submit to the taxation when 
Cyrenius was sent into Judea to make one ; for then it was that the Sicarii 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 21 

From these fragmentary accounts, it appears very clear that the 
most distinguishing feature of the new sect of Judas, was the 
revival in a more emphatic manner of the ancient traditionary 
expectation of a Kingdom of God, or of Heaven. He taught that 
men should regard God as their only ruler and Lord, and despise 
the apparent strength of the hateful foreigners, since God, who 
had so often delivered his people, would be able to protect them 
again, if they were not wanting to themselves. He called into 
new life the slumbering hopes of Israel, and bid him endeavour to 
regain the glories of his long-lost theocracy, which might possibly 
be destined to re-appear speedily, and in splendour proportionate 
to its present obscuration, provided only the nation would perform 
its own part. 

It were much to be wished that we had some further account of 
the brave Judas, than the fragments of the Romanized Pharisee 
Josephus. It seems that he was not only a teacher, but that he 
headed an armed revolt of some magnitude.* Josephus does not 
mention his fate, but it was probably the usual one of insurgents 
against the Romans, since we find that the taxation was soon 
afterwards universally submitted to, and that his two sons, James 
and Simon, were crucified under the procuratorship of Tiberius 
Alexander. 



got together against those that were willing to submit to the Romans, and 
treated them in all respects as if they had been their enemies, both by plun- 
dering them of what they had, by driving away their cattle, and by setting 
fire to their houses : for they said that they differed not at all from foreigners, 
by betraying, in so cowardly a manner, that freedom which Jews thought 
worthy to be contended for to the utmost, and by owning that they preferred 
slavery under the Romans before such a contention." 

R. Mardochseus, in Notitid Karceorum, p. 32, ex versione J. C. Wolfii, says : 

" R. Azarias writes that in some places which we have cited Josephus 
mentions a fourth sect, which is that of Judas the Gaulonite, sprung from 
Galilee, of whom mention is made among the Christians at the end of the 
fifth chapter of Acts of the Apostles, who adopted the opinions of the Phari- 
sees, but with this addition, that no yoke whatever of an earthly kingdom 
was to be submitted to, but only of the Kingdom of Heaven. On that 
account all his followers exposed themselves to death, to exile, and to every 
kind of calamity rather than undergo the yoke of any earthly king or 
ruler." — Schoett. Horce Heb. in Act. v. 

Basnage speaks very briefly of Judas, and says, " The Romans sent some 
forces against Judas, and he miserably perished." — vi. 9. 8. But he does not 
give his authority for this, which is rather more than we find in Josephus, or 
in the Acts. 

* The expression "revolter" applied to him by Josephus agrees with Acts 
v. 37. " After this man, rose up Judas of Galilee, in the days of the taxing, 



22 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

After the failure of the revolt of Judas the Galilean, (about 
A. D. 8,) the Jewish populace ceased, during an interval of about 
twenty-five years, to attempt any important armed resistance to the 
Eomans ;* and the people became in a great measure habituated to 
the yoke, which under the first procurators was probably not more 
oppressive than that of the Idumean princes ; j but his precepts 
and example had left among the more ardent Jewish spirits, and 
especially among the hardy population of Galilee, a deep-rooted 
sense of the national degradation, and an unquenchable desire of 
release. These feelings found a partial vent in the anticipation of 
the miraculous deliverance promised by the prophets. In the chief 
towns, open displays even of this spirit were repressed by the 
Roman officers, and their allies the Jewish princes, as a dangerous 
symptom,| but it continued to break forth from time to time in the 
villages and country places. A passage of the prophet Malachi 
had announced that Elijah was to appear again previously to the 
divine intervention of the God of Israel. An enthusiast of the 
Essene sect, named John, assumed the dress and manners of 
the expected prophet, § and appeared in the desert near Jordan, 



and drew away much people after him : he also perished, and all, even as 
many as obeyed him, were dispersed." Nevertheless it is singular that 
Josephus should in both places confine himself to describing the doctrine of 
Judas and its consequences, and omit all details respecting his revolt. 

* The revolt of Judas occurred in the procuratorship of Coponius, A. D. 6 
to 10. He was succeeded by Marcus Ambivius, A. D. 10, Annius Rufus 13, 
Valerius Gratus 15, Pontius Pilate 26. The procuratorships of the three 
former seem to have been tolerably tranquil, since Josephus passes over them 
with a very slight notice. Antiq. xviii. 2. He mentions two trifling dis- 
turbances under Pilate, the first on his attempting to form a water-course 
with the sacred treasure called Corban (chap. iii. ; and War, ii. chap, x.), 
the second on the attempt of an enthusiast to assemble a multitude on 
Mount Gerizim. 

f See the complaints of the Jewish ambassadors against Herod and 
Archelaus, during the government of the latter, and their petition to have 
Roman presidents instead of kings ; a repetition of which complaints led to 
the deposition of Archelaus. Antiq. xvii. 11. 

X Josephus says of the last -mentioned pretender, "He was one who 
thought lying a thing of little consequence, and contrived every thing so 
that the multitude might be pleased; so he bade them get together on 
Mount Gerizim, which is by them (the Samaritans) looked upon as the most 
holy of all mountains, and assured them that he would show them those 
sacred vessels which were laid under that place, because Moses put them 
there." They were violently dispersed by Pilate. Antiq. xviii. ch. iv. 

§ The last verses of Malachi, iv. 5, 6, "Behold I will send you Elijah the 
prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord," &c, 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 23 

baptizing the people, and urging them to repent, for the Kingdom 
of Heaven was at hand.* He accompanied this prediction with 
exhortations to virtue, according to the Essene school, representing 
that national reformation was the appointed precursor of the 
approaching change. He thus appears to have combined many of 
the Essene characteristics with a modification of the teaching of 
Judas, omitting its warlike tendency. The laudatory terms in 
which Josephus speaks of him as a teacher of virtue, furnish a 
strong presumption that John's discourses contained at least no 
apparent incentive to insurrection. f 

The appearance, however, of an enthusiast, preaching in the 
desert their long-expected kingdom, produced much excitement 
throughout Judea.J Crowds came to hear him, and to give the 



were doubtless much commented on by the Jews ; and in the state of the 
nation at that time it was natural enough to attribute the character of 
Elijah to John, from their resemblance to each other inoccupation and mode 
of life. But the camel's hair and leathern girdle lead us to infer that John 
himself intended to imitate Elijah (see 2 Kings i. 8). A passage in Zecha- 
riah xiii. 4, seems to show that the imitation had been frequent. 

* Matt. iii. 2 ; Mark i. 4 ; Luke iii. 3. 

f " Now some of the Jews thought that God had suffered Herod's army 
to be destroyed as a just punishment on him for the death of John, called 
the Baptist. For Herod had killed him, who was a just man, and had called 
upon the Jews to be baptized, and to practise virtue, exercising both justice 
toward men, and piety toward God. For so would baptism be acceptable 
to God, if they made use of it, not for the expiation of their sins, but for 
the purity of the body, the mind being first purified by righteousness. And 
many coming to him (for they were wonderfully taken with his discourses), 
Herod was seized with apprehensions, lest by his authority they should be 
led into sedition against him ; for they seemed capable of undertaking any 
thing by his direction. Herod therefore thought it better to take him off 
before any disturbance happened, than to run the risk of a change of affairs, 
and of repenting when it should be too late to remedy disorders. Being 
taken up on this suspicion of Herod, and being sent bound to the castle of 
Machssrus, just mentioned, he was slain there." — Antiq. xviii. ch. 5. 

% In later times, the preaching and sect of John the Baptist were lost 
sight of, owing to the pre-eminence of his successor. But that his sect was 
one of much notoriety near his own time, is seen from Acts xviii. and xix. ; 
for, twenty- three years after his death, Apollos and other Jews, who had not 
even heard of Jesus, were preaching the baptism of John. It is remarkable 
that the writer calls these Jews "certain disciples," which shows that John's 
preaching was considered to comprise the essential doctrine of the new sect, 
of which he was strictly the founder. This doctrine was the coming of the 
kingdom of Heaven. Aquila and Priscilla did not pretend to convert 
Apollos, who was already instructed in " the way of the Lord," but only to 
explain this way " more perfectly." Acts xviii. 24-26. 



24 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

outward sign of inward purification, submission to baptism.* 
Amongst these was a Galilean named Jesus, the son of Joseph, a 
carpenter of Nazareth. 

All classes of society must from time to time produce individuals 
of distinguished mental superiority. In ordinary times this may 
remain unseen and dormant ; but when some prevalent enthusiasm 
is abroad, it is quickened into life and action, and breaks forth to 
public gaze in the form of a great character. Jesus, the peasant 
of Galilee, possessed one of those gifted minds which are able to 
make an impression on mankind, and the age in which he lived 
supplied the stimulus required for its manifestation. He partook 
of the enthusiasm common to many patriotic Jews of his time, viz. 
an expectation of the approaching miraculous exaltation of Israel ; 
and the perception of his own mental elevation over those around 
him led him to indulge in the idea, not unnatural to any ardent 
Israelite, that he himself was to be the prophet and prince, like 
unto Moses, who should fill the restored throne of David. He had 
studied intensely the literature within the reach of the Jewish 
peasants, the Scriptures 1 of the Old Testament,! w ^ n which his 
mind was the more thoroughly imbued, as its attention had not 
been diffused over a wider field of writings. But a bold and active 
mind cannot be entirely fettered, even by the authorities which it 
acknowledges ; these may give to it a direction, but its native 
energy will find a vent in original thought and speculation. The 
inconsistency between the admission of a divine authority and the 
exercise of reason, is overlooked ; or if attended to, an excuse for 
the latter is easily found in the right of each mind to explain and 
interpret at least in its own way. So Jesus, although from early 
associations, patriotism, and conviction, a sincere believer in the 
divine authority of Moses and the prophets, f drew his chief mate- 
rials of thought from his own observation of men and things ; 



* Moses ordered the people to wash their clothes previously to receiving 
the law. Exod. xix. 10. Aaron and his sons were washed at their consecra- 
tion. Levit. viii. 6. Lightfoot (in Matt. iii. 6,) quotes Maimonides and many 
other Jewish authorities to show that baptism was considered a necessary 
introduction of proselytes to Judaism. Hence a new teacher might natu- 
rally adopt this rite as the sign of initiation or adherence to his doctrine. 
"Partaking of the waters of purification" was an initiatory rite with the 
Essenes. War ii. 8, 6. 

f The Apocrypha is not an important addition ; and the other Jewish 
writings were chiefly comments upon the Scriptures. 

J Matt, xxiii. 2. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 25 

commented freely* upon the Scriptures, which it never occurred to 
him to controvert ; scrupled not to give to them his own sense ; "j" 
and delivered his own sayings with force and sufficiency.! Whilst 
admitting to himself only the office of fulfilling the law and the 
prophets, he, in reality, made these the stock on which he grafted 
his own thoughts and sentiments. In like manner, although his 
station and place of abode made him peculiarly conversant with 
the doctrines of the Essenes and Galileans, he was not a mere 
follower of either party, but adopted and re-invigorated with his 
sanction, so much of the sentiments of either as accorded with his 
own taste and judgment. He retained the pure morality of the 
Essenes, but neglected their rigid austerities. He adopted the 
religious liberalism of Judas, but he abstained from the evidently 
useless proceeding of declared insurrection. 

A mind conscious of its own power, and whose energy is increased 
by a tincture of enthusiasm, must make itself felt in some manner. 
It was impossible for Jesus to remain his whole life a carpenter at 
Nazareth ; but all ordinary ways to greatness were then closed to 
the lower ranks in Judea, except that of heading a revolt. The 
priesthood was confined to the family of Aaron ; the prejudices of 
Jerusalem must exclude a Galilean peasant from the Sanhedrim ; § 
and other subsidiary dignities could only be reached by subser- 
vience to the Komans or to the tetrarchs. The necessity of action 
in a sphere congenial to the ruling tendencies of the mind, is, with 
some persons, a more powerful motive than a cool calculation of 
consequences ; and Jesus determined to imitate Moses, and fulfil 
the prophets, by assuming the character of the Messiah, or the 
Prophet-king of Israel. 

The preaching of John roused him from the obscurity in which 
he had remained till about the 30th year of his age ; and imme- 



* Matt. xix. 8, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered 
you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so, and I 
say unto you 

f Matt. xxii. 40, On these two commandments hang all the law and the 
prophets. 

X Matt. v. 21, 22, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time . . . 
but I say unto you, &c. The greater part of the moral precepts of Jesus 
may be traced in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha ; but the mode of 
introducing them, and the addition of some new views, are enough to esta- 
bhsh his title to originality. 

§ Strictly speaking, the Sanhedrim was open to all the Israelites. Mai- 
mon. in Sanhed, cap. 2. But the priests and Levites appear to have formed 
the greater part. 



26 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLOXISH 

diately after his baptism by his predecessor, he began himself, 
with far greater resources, to preach on the same favourite topic, 
the approach of the Kingdom of Heaven,* endeavouring chiefly in 
the first place, to introduce that general Repentance, and return to 
righteousness, which by many devout Jews were believed to be the 
first and most indispensable requisites for attaining the Kingdom. 
His discourses, like those of John, were filled up with exhortations 
to morality, agreeing mostly with those of the older Jewish 
writings and of the Essenes, and with vigorous reproofs of the 
prevailing corruptions of the age. Public preaching on such 
topics, accompanied by inexhaustible illustrations from nature and 
familiar objects,f could hardly fail in any country of drawing 
crowds of listeners. 

In nations little acquainted with physical science, mental supe- 
riority is often supposed to be connected with some degree of 
command over the inanimate world ; and the multitudes who heard 
Jesus imagined that nature, as well as they, must recognize his 
authority. Nor was it unnatural, in the state of science at that 
time, that Jesus himself should share the notion. :£ Accordingly, 
when urged by the crowds to heal their maladies he yielded to 
their importunities, § so far as to speak the word which they 
wanted.^ In many such cases, the confident expectation of its 
efficiency was enough to produce an apparent success, and it 
appears that Jesus was in general cautious of committing himself 
to the trial, unless there was this confidence in they party ap- 



* Matt. iv. 17, From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, 
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

f Matt. xiii. 34, All these things spake Jesus to the multitude in parables, 
and without a parable spake he not unto them. 

| The learned Josephus even often intimates that he himself possessed 
certain supernatural gifts by virtue of his priestly dissent. War, book iii. 
c. viii. 3, 9. 

§ And they brought unto him all sick people, &c. ; ix. 27, And two blind 
men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on 
us ; xv. 23, And a woman of Canaan cried unto him, Have mercy on me, 
O Lord, thou Son of David ; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 
But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, 
saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us . . . In this gospel, it seldom 
appears that Jesus sought an opportunity of doing a miracle, but rather that 
the attempt was forced upon him. 

% The addition, " and he healed them all," or its equivalent, occurs so 
regularly at the close of all Matthew's narratives of this sort, that it kmlcs 
more like a sentence adopted to finish the story well, than the evidence bo a 
matter of fact. For, in general, this, the most important part of the story, 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 27 

plying.* But when he found the attempt succeed, he would begin 
to entertain more seriously the idea that he possessed the super- 
natural power attributed to him, and might easily conclude, that, 
by relying on it, and boldly exercising it, any miracle was 
possible. f Perceiving that in such cases diffidence usually pre- 
ceded a failure, he might naturally infer that a sufficient degree of 
confidence only was wanting to produce the most wonderful effect. 
The prevalent opinion of his country was that diseases were 
occasioned by the entrance of demons into the human body, and 
the power of expelling them by certain words of command was 
believed in by the most enlightened Jews.J The miracle was one 
of the most ambiguous kind, since any change of symptoms might 
be regarded as proof of the demon's exit. In cases of lunacy, an 
authoritative word or gesture might produce a momentary calm ; 
and in fits, exhaustion might soon bring on the same state. In 
many other diseases, palsy, fever, &c, a sudden energetic effort on 
the part of the patient might produce the appearance of recovery. 



is passed over without giving particulars. See, in addition to the above, 
Matt. viii. 13-16; xiv. 14; xv. 30; xx. 34. The question concerning Mat- 
thew's veracity will be considered in chap. iii. 

* Matt. ix. 2, And Jesus, seeing their faith, saith unto the sick of the 
palsy ... ix. 27, Believe ye that I am able to do this?... Then touched he 
their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto you. 

f Matt. xvii. 19, 20, Then saicl the disciples, Why could not we cast him 
out ? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief : for verily I say 
unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this 
mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing 
shall be impossible to you. 

% Josephus has the following passages concerning demons : — " Yet after 
all this pams in getting, it (the root Baaras) is only valuable on account of 
one virtue it hath, that if it be only brought to sick persons, it quickly 
drives away those called demons, which are no other than the spirits of the 
wicked, that enter into men that are alive, and kill them, unless they can 
obtain some help against them." — War, vii. ch. vi. 3. 

' ' God enabled him (Solomon) to learn that skill which expels demons, 
which is a science useful and sanative to men. He composed such incan- 
tations also by which distempers are alleviated. And he left behind him the 
manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons, so that they 
never return, and this method, of cure is of great force unto this day ; for I 
have seen a certain man of my own country, named Eleazar, releasing people 
that were demoniacal in the presence of Vespasian and his sons, and his cap- 
tives, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was 
this : — He put a ring that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by 
Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon 
through his nostrils ; and when the man fell down immediately, he abjured 
him to return into him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and 



28 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

Instances of success, which were alone likely to be recorded, 
(although we have some indications of occasional failure,)* would 
be improved in passing from mouth to mouth, and by zealous par- 
tizans the account would soon be embellished with a few tales of 
more decided miracles, such as curing the blind and raising the 
dead; especially if such tales had some foundation in fact, so far 
as that the attempt, or the application only, had been really 
made.f 

Jesus having thus acquired the reputation of a miracle-worker, 
as well as of a prophet, was followed in his progress through the 
towns of Galilee by multitudes of the populace, and even by some 
of the better sort of the Jews,| who cherished in secret the hope 
of their country's revival, and began to look upon the new prophet 
of Nazareth, as more than a common pretender. Jesus then pro- 
ceeded to lay the foundation for a separate organized society by 
selecting twelve of his countrymen to be his more immediate 
supporters, promising them that when he should obtain his king- 
dom, they should rule under him over the twelve tribes of Israel. 
These he sent forth to the neighbouring towns to preach, § like 



reciting the incantation which he had composed. And when Eleazar would 
persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power, he set 
a little way off a cup or basin full of water, and commanded the demon, as 
he went out of the man, to overturn it, and thereby to let the spectators 
know that he had left the man ; and when this was done, the skill and 
wisdom of Solomon were shown very manifestly." — Antiq. viii. 2-5. 

* Compare Matt. x. 1, "And he gave them power to cast out unclean 
spirits," with xviii. 16, "And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could 
not cure him." See also Mark vi. 5, " And he could there do no mighty 
work (owk rjSvvaTo), save that he laid his hands on a few sick folk and healed 
them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief." The translation of the 
Improved Version is " would not," but the usual sense of Swa/iai is " to be 
able." Besides, it is plain that want of will was not the cause of the ill 
success of Jesus, since he did make some attempts, and also because the 
word "marvelled" implies some disappointment. 

This passage shows veiy clearly that belief was considered as an essential 
preparation for a miracle ; and therefore when the miracle did not take place, 
it was natural enough for the disciples to attribute the failure to the want 
of belief. 

f The miracles attributed to Jesus will be examined more closely in 
chap. viii. 

J That some of the disciples, besides Matthew, had been in tolerable 
worldly circumstances, may be conjectured from Matt. xix. 29. 

§ Matt. x. 7, And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 29 

John and himself, the preparation for the approaching miraculous 
regeneration of Israel, or the Kingdom of Heaven.* 

Jesus at first assumed only the title of Son of Man,f which 
had been given to some of the prophets. The more dangerous 
claim of the character of Messiah, or successor of David, he only 
acknowledged in secret to his more confidential followers ; $ for its 
open avowal was nearly equivalent to a declaration of revolt from 
the Komans, and an armed insurrection does not seem to have 
been his immediate aim. He contented himself with the exercise 
of his prophetic office amongst the people, and with spreading the 
expectation of the divine deliverance promised by the prophets. 
This conduct might appear to the ruling authorities suspicious, 
but was not immediate sedition ; and their patience or indifference 
lasted till few synagogues or villages of Galilee remained which 
had not heard the voice of the new prophet or of his followers. 

To understand the conduct of Jesus, we must allow that it was, 
like that of all other men, influenced, in some degree, by circum- 
stances. If, at this critical time, his preaching throughout Ga- 
lilee had been followed by a general rising of the Jewish nation, 
the expulsion of the Romans, and the election of himself to the 
throne, his acts and expressions up to this time lead us to con- 
jecture that, although his superior prophetic dignity set him above 
the subordinate details of organizing and heading revolts in person, 



* That Jesus at first, like the rest of his countrymen, considered the 
kingdom of heaven to mean primarily the exaltation of his nation, appears 
from the following texts : Matt. v. 35, Swear not, neither by Jerusalem, for 
it is the city of the great king ; x. 5, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, 
and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not ; but go rather to the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel ; xv. 24, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel ; xix. 28, When the Son of Man shall sit upon the throne 
of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes 
of Israel ; xxiii. 37, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy chil- 
dren together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would 
not. — Besides, the natural and common signification of the word Christ, or 
Anointed, was equivalent to king. See 1 Samuel xxiv. 6. 

But in maintaining that Jesus aimed at the dominion over Israel, it is not 
pretended that his views were all along limited to this. The coming of the 
kingdom, in the last verse of Malachi, and in Isaiah, is made coincident with 
the spread of righteousness over the earth. Jesus, having derived his views 
in great part from the prophets, intended to be both king and prophet ; and 
therefore spoke both as a national regenerator and a moral reformer. 

f The chief reason for Jesus's assuming this title will be considered in the 
examination of Daniel, chap. xiv. 

t Matt. xvi. 13-20. 



30 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

he might yet have accepted such success as a sign from heaven, 
and allowed himself to be borne on to the seat of David, in the 
generally understood character of the Messiah, a triumphant king 
of Israel. But events happened otherwise; and from them the 
views of Jesus necessarily took a somewhat different colour.* 

His proceedings attracted the attention of the Jewish rulers.f 
Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, had already imprisoned John, from 
jealousy of his influence with the people, and, according to Josephus, 
put him to death from the same motive. Jesus appeared to be a 
still more dangerous person, and it became known that Herod was 
seeking to arrest him. 

Jesus at first avoided the danger by retiring into desert places. J 
His situation was now become difficult and perplexing. Although 
followed by crowds of wonder-gazers, who, he knew, were able to 
confer only the name and the danger of royalty, none of the influ- 
ential towns § had given him any support or countenance, and no 
signs from heaven yet appeared to indicate superhuman aid. His 
progress hitherto seemed brilliant; but it could not long be con- 
tinued. To perambulate the towns of Galilee, preaching to hungry 
multitudes, must become a burden to both parties as soon as the 
excitement of novelty was lost. And now the local government 
was about to interfere. 

There were two courses open to Jesus ; to endeavour to make 
his peace with the tetrarch, by withdrawing from the public eye 
and sinking back to his original station, or to sustain his claims 
and perish a martyr ; for it was obvious that the danger must be 
greater at Jerusalem, or the parts adjoining, than in Galilee. 

The magnanimity which leads public men to fear death less than 
a disgraceful retreat is not uncommon. The energy of his charac- 
ter, the raised expectations of his followers, and probably a secret 
persuasion that he was still the agent destined to accomplish the 
purpose of the God of Israel, led Jesus to prefer the former. He 
determined to go up at once to Jerusalem, and to claim openly 



* The character and views of Jesus will be considered more fully in 
ch. xvi. 

f Matt. xiv. 1. 

J Matt. xiv. 13. 

§ Matt. xi. 21-23, "Wo unto thee Chorazin . . . Bethsaida . . . and thou, 
Capernaum." It will be seen that this sketch follows chiefly the order of 
Matthew, but not exactly. For reasons to be given hereafter, it appears that 
this gospel is the best guide in this respect, but still that it has not preserved 
the true order of all the events and discourses. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 31 

the Messiahship.* This was rushing upon nearly certain death. 
Enthusiasm cannot blind men to the most obvious consequences of 
their actions, and Jesus had already experienced that his imagined 
character of Messiah did not secure him from human wants and 
dangers. f He began to contemplate the probability of his mar- 
tyrdom, and to give some intimations to his followers that the 
Messiah must suffer before he should reign.J 

He proceeded then towards Jerusalem, accompanied by the most 
ardent of his followers, and by the women of rank who supplied 
the temporal wants of the society. After visiting some interme- 
diate towns, he made his entry boldly into the metropolis, riding 
upon an ass's colt, in order to apply to himself a passage of 
Zechariah supposed to relate to the Messiah. § The populace 
crowded about the prophet of Nazareth, and were easily induced 
by the disciples to join in proclaiming him son of David, and 
Messiah. Encouraged by their enthusiasm, and supported for a 



* Matb. xvi. 21, " From that time forth, began Jesus to show unto his 
disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of 
the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again 
the third day." — The reasons for admitting only a part of this account are 
given in chap. xv. 

f Matt. viii. 20. 

j To ascertain precisely the time at which Jesus began to teach the doc- 
trine of a suffering Messiah is one of the most difficult points in this inquiry. 
For all tho evangelists are more or less careless of the order of time in 
relating the discourses of Jesus, and the subsequent conduct of the disciples 
seems to show that he did not plainly predict his death so soon. Yet it was 
natural enough, on taking such a dangerous step as the journey to Jerusa- 
lem, that he should prepare himself for the worst, and that he should begin 
to mould his doctrine according to his internal apprehensions. But it was 
not done in Galilee so clearly as to prevent the disciples' expectation of a 
tempoi-al kingdom, which continued till nearly his death. See chap. xv. 

§ Zech. ix. 9. The rest of the book shows tolerably clearly that Zecha- 
riah intended this passage for his patron Zerubbabel. Bat, like many other 
passages descriptive of a king of Israel, and rendered obscure by the want 
of a more minute history, it was likely to be considered a prophecy of the 
Messiah, when quoted separately. 

la a tract of the Talmud, Sanhedrin, fol. 98, 1, this text of Zechariah is 
considered as relating to the Messiah, and is reconcded with Dan. vii 13. 
thus : " If the Israelites conducted themselves well, the Messiah would come 
on the clouds of Heaven; if they showed themselves unworthy, he would 
come in a lowly form, and sitting on an ass." There is reason to believe 
that the Talmud, although compiled after the time of Christ, preserves the 
the traditions existing before his time. In this case, it is in the highest 
degree improbable that its Jewish compilers should have borrowed from the 
Christian records. 



32 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

brief space by their physical strength, he proceeded to signalize 
Zion's reception of her king by a more open and practical demon- 
stration of his claims than any that he had yet ventured upon. 
He not only accepted the dangerous homage of the multitude, but 
endeavoured to excite more general attention by proceeding, in his 
character of regenerator, to expel by main force the traffickers 
from the temple. 

But the cautious vigilance of the priests and Pharisees soon 
checked the momentary popular enthusiasm. The city in general 
pursued its occupations, the Eoman garrison remained in full 
strength,* and the faith which had been able to expel demons, and 
which it was hoped might be able, when fully relied on, to cast 
mountains into the sea, was now found insufficient to triumph over 
the formidable realities with which Jesus and his followers had 
come into contact. The last resource had failed ; the King had 
entered, yet Zion for the most part remained unmoved. Jesus 
perceived that even the partial support which he had received, 
brought him in reality nearer to the cross than to the throne of 
Israel, since a disorderly mob was no protection against the Roman 
government, and without a legion of angels he had little chance of 
resisting the legions of Pilate. He now saw that not only was 
there no chance of a national effort at regeneration, but that it was 
not the will of God for the present to grant aid from heaven. At 
the outset of his career, he might have flattered himself that he 
was destined to be a second Moses, and to redeem Israel by mighty 
signs and wonders ; but his progress hitherto had convinced him 
that this was not in the divine plans, and the Essene doctrines of 
implicit submission to the decrees of Providence, and of the immor- 
tality of the soul, led him to look calmly on the growing proba- 
bility of his own approaching death. It was only left for him to 
maintain, as long as events allowed, the character of prophet and 
king, which he had so long borne amonst his followers, and to meet 
his fate with a dignity becoming his pretensions. 

Jesus having thus prepared his mind for the worst, met the remon- 
strances of the Pharisees with covert defiance, and continued to 
preach unreservedly to the people. His audacity for a time insured 
his safety ; for the people, admiring his boldness, and delighted 
with his discourses, which rebuked keenly the vices of their supe- 
riors, became his protectors ; insomuch that it was seen that any open 



Roman garrison in Jerusalem mentioned War, ii. 13, 5. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 33 

attempt to destroy hirn must produce a tumult. The Jewish priests 
and nobles were perplexed. In the existing state of the public 
mind, the most trifling tumult might become the occasion of an 
insurrection ; they were in an embarrassing position with respect 
to the Romans, who had left them hitherto many privileges, 
but who might make use of any appearance of revolt to reduce 
them to more rigid subjection. Placed between imperious masters 
and an impatient populace, and having themselves still much to 
lose, their constant policy was to preserve the status quo, and to 
stifle at once, as quietly as possible, all tendency to sedition.* 
They would have willingly denounced Jesus at once to the Koman 
governor, who alone possessed the power of life and death ; but 
he had not yet committed any sufficiently clear act of treason, 
and would not be led by their agents into a declaration against the 
tribute. They were constrained, then, to see him for a time con- 
tinuing in the temple the preaching which had excited the multi- 
tudes in Galilee. He took up his residence at a disciple's house 
in Bethany, whence he could conveniently visit Jerusalem, and, 
by the attractiveness of his character and discourses, gained many 
adherents. A few even of the nobles, who partook of the popular 
feeling, and themselves waited for the kingdom of God, secretly 
befriended him. Amongst these were Joseph of Arimathea and 
Nicodemus. But the greater part of the leading men perceived 
that a reformer who not only avowed his claim to the throne of 
David, but who inveighed unsparingly against themselves, must at 
any risk be removed. In addition to the danger of compromising 
them with the Romans, he was leading the people to despise their 
own authority. They decided upon seizing his person at some mo- 
ment when he could be found apart from the people, and then de- 
livering him to the governor as a mover of sedition. 

One of the disciples of Jesus was known to the high priest, f 
By his means, or through his concealed friends, Joseph and Nico- 
demus, Jesus had notice of the intention to apprehend him ; but 
he had been long prepared to prefer martyrdom to flight. He 
assembled his disciples to eat the passover supper with him, and 
took a formal leave of them, telling them now plainly that, in order to 



* See the account of Agrippa's attempt to stifle a tumult (Jos., War, book 
ii. xvi.) ; and the commendations given to the high priest Ananus on the 
same account, War, iv. v. 

f John viii. 15. The writer of this gospel relates the purport of several 
secret consultations of the Pharisees and priests. John ix. 47 ; xii. 19. 
D 



34 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

fulfil the prophets,* the Messiah must be cut off, and undergo 
death as preparatory to the reception of his kingdom. f The 
garden of Gethsemane might witness some mournfnl strugglings 
of nature as the last dreadful reality seemed to approach, when the 
Messiah must lose all remnants of his imaginary dignity, and in 
the sight of his companions be presented to Jerusalem as a crucified 
malefactor instead of a triumphant King. But the disgraceful 
evasions which, in this extremity, might have been the resource of 
a mere disappointed impostor, were impossible to Jesus. The 
same earnest faith in the God of Israel which had led him to con- 
template projects, in ordinary calculation the wildest visions, could 
endow him with fortitude equal at least to that of the many well- 
known examples in his country's scriptures and legends. To brave 
the anger of the Sanhedrim and of Pilate was a resolution not 
extraordinary in a generous mind, brought up from infancy to 
admire the youths who had persisted in serving God in defiance of 
Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Antiochus.| 

The gradual change in the views of Jesus since his departure 
from Galilee had not been readily adopted by his disciples. Ex- 
cepting Judas Iscariot, whose attachment was not strong enough 
to blind him to the indications of his master's approaching fate, 
and Peter, James, and John, who might already have begun, like 
Jesus, to transfer their hopes to a kingdom to be revealed hereafter 
from heaven ; the disciples in general retained their first expec- 
tations, and trusted, in spite of all adverse appearances, that Jesus 
was he which should redeem Israel. The doctrine of a suffering 
Messiah was to them all too surprising to allow of their minds 
being accommodated to it on so short a notice ; and when the cap- 



* Matt. xxvi. 24, 31, 54, 56. 

f Luke xxii. 16, 18, 28, 29. 

J The ardour of the Jews to die for their religion and country, probably 
much surpassed the similar spirit amongst the Greeks and Romans. The 
examples are innumerable from the times of the Maccabees. In the reign 
of Herod the Great, Judas and Matthias, teachers of the law, thus exhort 
the young men to pull down a golden eagle erected by the king contrary to 
the law : " the virtue of the action would appear much more advantageous 
to them than the pleasures of life ; they would die for the preservation of 
the law of their fathers ; they would acquire an everlasting fame and com- 
mendation ; the common calamity of dying cannot be avoided by our living 
so as to escape any such dangers, but death is alleviated when attained by 
actions which bring praise and honour." — Ant. xvii. 6. 2. In other places, 
the immortality of the soul is not omitted. See War, vii. 8, 7. 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 35 

ture of Jesus was soon afterwards effected, the whole of the dis- 
ciples, after some feeble attempts at resistance, forsook him and 
fled. 

The constancy with which men sustain their pretensions under 
persecution, insult, and the fear of death, is generally regarded as 
a strong, although not infallible, proof of their sincerity. The 
highest degree of evidence of this kind is afforded by the conduct 
of Jesus during his trial. It shows that, if he had deluded others 
by his assumption of the Messiahship, and the promise of his 
approahing kingdom, he himself fully shared in the delusion. 
Before the tribunals of his judges, he abated nothing of the claims 
which he had announced in secret to his disciples. To the high 
priest he asserted that he was the Christ, and the Son of Man, who 
would be seen hereafter coming on the clouds of heaven.* To the 
Roman governor he also admitted at once that he was the King of 
the Jews.f The quiet confidence with which he maintained pre- 
tensions apparently so extravagant, when a renunciation of them 
might possibly have saved his life ; the firm self-possession with 
which he declined to answer the accusations brought against him, 
thereby neglecting the opportunity, to which few men in such 
circumstances show themselves indifferent, of making a favourable 
impression on the bystanders, by clearing away misrepresentations, 
extenuating or explaining the most obnoxious parts of their con- 
duct, and finally appealing to their pity or admiration ; — these 
points in the conduct of Jesus seem to betoken a high-minded 
and sincere enthusiasm, free from any consciousness of imposture. 
He behaved like a prophet, Messiah, and Son of God, because he 
believed himself to be such. 



* Matt. xxvi. 64. 

■f Luke xxiii. 2, " And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this 
man perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying, 
that he hmiself is Christ a king. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou 
the king of the Jews ? and he answered him, and said, Thou sayest." From 
Luke xxii. 70, 71, it appears that this was a form of assent. This is con- 
firmed by several Eabbinical passages. 

Matt, xxvii. 1 1, " And Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor 
asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews ? and Jesus said unto him, 
Thou sayest." After this, according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus 
answered no further questions. John alone inserts a further conversation, 
in which Jesus says that his kingdom is not of this world. But some 
reasons will be given in chap. vi. for considering the dialogues in this last 
gospel chiefly as a convenient form adopted by the writer for delivering the 
doctrines of his own time. 



36 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FKOM THE BABYLONISH 

Pilate did not consider the mere assumption of the title Christ 
as a capital crime, since it appeared to be unaccompanied by any 
clear proof* of treason, and was willing to spare the life of Jesus. 
But he suffered himself to be overruled by the priests. He had 
some respect for the native leaders of Judea, and could not refuse 
to concede to them the death of one man. As a Eoman soldier, 
his object was to preserve the country in subjection to the empire, 
and the administration of strict justice would appear to him a less 
certain and obvious method than a system of prompt executions. f 
The sacrifice of a Jew accused of sedition by his own countrymen, 
could at least do no harm. He gave sentence, then, that it should 
be as they required ; and Jesus, after being scourged, was crucified 
by the soldiers. He seemed to expire in the unusually short time 
of about six hours ;| he remained suspended till the evening, § 
which might be three or four hours longer ; and before he was 
taken down from the cross, one of the soldiers, in order to ascer- 
tain, or to ensure his death, pierced his side with a spear.^[ 



* Matt, xxvii. 23, Why, what evil hath he done ? 

f The account of Pilate in Josephus, Ant. xviii. 3 & 4, gives rather the 
impression of a harsh soldier than a wanton tyrant like Floras. The acts 
related are chiefly instances of blundering severity in support of the Eoman 
authority. 

% According to Mark, who is the most exact in noting the time, Jesus 
was crucified at the third hour, the darkness began at the sixth hour, and 
he expired at the ninth hour. (xv. 25, 33, 34.) Matthew and Luke appear 
to mean also, that the darkness, not the crucifixion, began at the sixth hour. 
But John says it was about the sixth hour when Pilate said, Behold your 
king, previously to the crucifixion. Since the other three agree very well, it is 
most reasonable to attribute the mistake to the last gospel. 

§ The body had not been taken down when Joseph applied to Pilate. 
Mark xv. 46. This was when the even was come. Matt, xxvii. 57. Mark 
xv. 42. The sun set at Jerusalem in the beginning of April soon after six. 
Their third hour corresponded to our nine o'clock. Therefore Jesus was 
suspended nine hours, and possibly some short time longer. 

^f Notwithstanding the surprise of Pilate that Jesus should be so soon 
dead, (Mark xv. 44,) I cannot find sufficient reason to disbelieve the reality 
of his death before he was taken from the cross ; for, firstly, The injuries 
undergone by Jesus, viz. the scourging and other ill-treatment from the 
soldiers before crucifiixion, the loss of blood by the piercing of the hands 
and feet, and the unnatural distortion of the limbs during six hours, might 
be sufficient to cause death to a man unless very robust. Secondly, The 
Eoman soldiers were well accustomed to their business, and were not likely 
to pass by Jesus at the breaking of the legs, unless they were satisfied of 
his death. Thirdly, The piercing of his side was an additional security. 
Fourthly, Pilate's attention was drawn to the matter, and he therefore must 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 37 

Joseph of Ariinathea, using the liberty which the Jewish 
custom* allowed to the family (including probably the friends) of 
the deceased, demanded the body from Pilate ; in concert with 
Nicodemus, he embalmed it in the Jewish manner, by wrapping it 
in linen and spices, and buried it the same evening in a tomb, said 
by Matthew to be his own, and described by John as near at hand, 
and situated in a garden. 



Schoettgen, Horse Heb. i. 9, gives an account of all that can be found in 
the Talmud concerning Jesus. The following is an abridgment of what he 
has collected : — 

Sanhedrin, fol. 67. 1. " He whom we call the son of Satda, is the son of 
Pandira. His mother was Mary, the plaiter of women's hair." It is ques- 
tioned whether Satda was the name of Mary or of her husband. Massecheth 
Kallah, fol. 18. 2. The story of Mary's infidelity to her lawful husband is 



have obtained what he considered satisfactory evidence of the death from 
the centurion, before he granted the body to Joseph. Fifthly. In the subse- 
quent controversies between the disciples of Jesus and the Jews, the latter 
never pretended that Jesus had not really died on the cross, but answered 
the story of the resurrection in a manner which admitted it. 

Victorinus, who was crucified under Nerva, with his head downwards, 
lived three days. The martyrs Timotheus and Maura lived nine days. 
Eusebius says that some who were crucified in Egypt died only of hunger ; 
yet St. Andrew, who was fastened with cords instead of nails, in order that 
his death might be slower, died in two days ; which would lead us to sup- 
pose that death in one day or less, with the usual method, might often 
occur. Lijjshi.t de Cruce, 1. 2. cap. viii. & ix. 

Josephus ( Vita. 75) relates that he obtained leave from Titus to take down 
three of his friends who had been crucified, and were still alive : that the 
utmost care was taken of them, but that one only recovered. He does not 
say how long they had been suspended. 

This subject will be considered further in the Appendix. 

* The Romans were accustomed to leave the bodies of criminals upon the 
cross until they were consumed away, or were devoured by birds of prey. 
The Jewish law (Deut. xxi. 23.) ordained that the body of "one hanged 
upon a tree should not remain all night upon the tree, but should in any 
wise be removed that day." The Romans usually abstained from infringing 
Jewish customs ; but as a special request was deemed necessary to obtain 
the removal of the bodies of Jesus and the two crucified with him, (John 
xix. 31.) it would seem doubtful if this Jewish law was invariably observed 
in the case of crucifixions by Roman authority. With respect to the burial 
of criminals, the Sanhedrim were accustomed to inter those executed by 
their order in tombs set apart for the purpose, and with certain circum- 
stances of ignominy ; but if the relations of the person executed demanded 
the body, it was granted to them. Babyl. Sanhedrin, fol. 46, 2, quoted by 
Lightfoot in Matt, xxvii. 58. 



38 HISTORICAL SKBTCH, FROM THE BABYLONISH 

related in a different way, but with many absurdities, one of which is that 
R. Akiba is made her contemporary. Sanhedrin, fol. 107, 2. " When king 
Jannaeus slew the Rabbins, (Alex. Jannaeus reigned 105 — 79 before our 
Christian sera,) R. Josua ben Perachia, and Jesus went to Alexandria in 
Egypt." Then follows an excommunication of Jesus by the Rabbi, after 
which it is said that Jesus exercised magic, and led the Israelites into the 
worst sins. The same things repeated, Sotah, fol. 47, 1. The chronology 
being evidently erroneous, R. Gedaliah in Shalsheleth hakkabala, fol. 17, 1, 
says that another R. Josua, who lived seventy years before the temple was 
destroyed, was the preceptor of Jesus. Schabbath, fol. 104, 2. There is a 
tradition that R. Eliezer said to the learned men, " Did not the son of Satda 
bring magic from Egypt, by a cutting made in his flesh?" They replied, 
" Stultus fuit ; ab homine stulto vere probationem nullam petere solemus." 
Raschius explains that the Egyptians prohibited their magical books from 
being carried out of their country, and that Jesus abstracted a schedule in 
an incision in his thigh. Sanhedrin, fol. 67, 1. The method of stoning those 
who seduced the people is related. " Thus they did to the son of Satda in 
Lud, (Lydda) and suspended him on the evening of the Passover. Sanhe- 
drin, fol. 43, 1. A tradition ; " on the evening of the Passover they sus- 
pended Jesus. And a crier went before him for forty days, saying; He 
goeth forth to be stoned, because he hath used divinations, and deceived, 
and seduced Israel to apostacy. Whosoever can testify to his innocence, let 
him come forth and testify. But they found no one to testify, and they 
suspended him on the evening of the Passover." Gittin, fol. 57, 1. A story 
is told of the punishment after death of a certain Jesus, who however is 
said afterwards to be not the God of the Christians, but another, who de- 
rided the words of the sages : " For behold, it is not written Jesus Nazaraeus, 
but Jesus Gereda. Moreover, yours is not to be understood, because he did 
not commit this only, but seduced Israel, and made himself God, and over- 
threw the whole foundation of piety. Therefore he must needs be wholly 
diverse from him, who admitted the written law, but rejected the oral one 
only, and who ought to be called not otherwise than a heretic." Sanhedrin, 
fol. 43, 1. " Our Rabbins deliver that Jesus had five disciples ; Matthai, 
Nakai, Nezer, Boni, and Thoda (Thadcheus?)." A story of then- execution 
is related, each endeavouring to save himself by a Scripture quotation. 
Avoda Sara, fol. 17, 1. " R. Eliezer said, I was once walking in the upper 
market-place of Zippore, and found there one of the disciples of Jesus the 
Nazarene, whose name was James Sechaniensis (of Shechem?)." Then fol- 
lows a discussion on a point of the law. Avoda Sara, fol. 40, 4, and Schab- 
bath, fol. 14, 4. A story of the cure of R. Eleazar ben Darna of a serpent's 
bite by the word of Jacobus of Sama, in the name of Jesus son of Pandira : 
which cure is condemned as unlawful by R. Ismael, and Eleazar dies. A 
similar story is told of the nephew of R. Josua ben Levi, who Buffered from 
a stoppage in the throat; and "a certain man came to him, who whispered 
in the name of Jesus, son of Pandira, and he was immediately healed. But 
R. Josua pronounced that it would have been better for him to die ; and this 
happened." 

The value of all this is little more than to show that the Talmud cannot 
help us much as to the history of Jesus. In fact, the Jews of the schools of 
I'alesi i i i < ■ after (lie fall of Jerusalem, are miserable sources of history of any 
kind. Their allusions to their own affairs and to the recent war are mixed 
with absurd legends. Besides Josephus and Philo, there is no Jewish his- 



CAPTIVITY TO THE DEATH OF JESUS. 39 

toxical authority of value during the first two centuries. Notwithstanding 
the satisfactory testimonies brought by Josephus to the superior exactness 
of his own work, (Life, § 66), we must lament the loss of that of his rival 
Justus of Tiberias, who wrote the Jewish history from Moses to the death 
of the younger Agrippa. But Photius (33rd code of Bibliotheca) tells us 
that he had read the book of Justus, and that it contained no mention of 
the appearance of Christ, and passed over slightly the affairs most necessary 
to be insisted upon (doubtless those relating to the Christians). 

King Agrippa, after applauding highly the works of Josephus, adds, 
" However when thou comest to me, I will inform thee of a great many 
things which thou dost not know." It is probable that these things related, 
more to the secrets of his own and the Roman court, than to the affairs of 
Paul and the Christians. Yet how the hint awakens our wish for the king's 
account of the Apostle's trial ! 



CHAPTER II. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH CONTINUED, FEOM THE DEATH OF 
JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 

The disciples of Jesus had not thought it possible that the Messiah 
could be allowed to perish ignominiously, but rather hoped that 
each successive disappointment was in reality bringing him nearer 
to his throne. The unexpected catastrophe bewildered them ; and 
for a short time their allegiance was shaken by alarm and uncer- 
tainty. They feared to appear in public as his friends ; the women, 
who incurred less danger, alone went to see where he was laid, and 
after the Sabbath, were the first to visit the tomb. 

But this interval of one day and two nights, following upon the 
first hasty interment of Jesus, had given time to Joseph to take 
what further measures seemed expedient to him. His performance 
of the office of a friend in securing an honourable burial to Jesus, 
might excite suspicions on the part of the governor or of the council, 
and at the same time lead the disciples to regard him as their pro- 
tector and leader. These characters he was not at all anxious to 
assume. He might have listened with interest to the discourses of 
Jesus, but his secret discipleship was not of that kind that he 
could leave all to follow him. He feared that the followers of 
Jesus, who had come up with him from the turbulent province 
of Galilee, although terrified for a moment, might attempt to 
excite the populace of Jerusalem to avenge him ; an attempt the 
more dangerous at that time, as Jerusalem was crowded with 
country people come up for the passover.* The place of interment 
was likely to be resorted to, and being in his own possession or 
under his superintendence, any disturbances which might arise 
from the access to, or attempts to recover, the remains of Jesus, 



* There were so many tumults raised on these occasions, that the approach 
of feasts was always regarded with apprehension by the priests. Jos. Ant. 
xvii. 9, 2 ; x. 2. War, ii. 3, 1. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF JESUS, ETC. 41 

were likely to be laid to his charge, and possibly he might be the 
next victim.* 

He had the body removed from the tomb, or from that part of 
it where the women had seen it laid, and directed the agent who 
remained in charge of the open sepulchre to inform the visitants 
that Jesus was not there, but that they should behold him in 
Galilee.f The message was first delivered to Mary Magdalene and 
her companions, by whom and the subsequent narrators, in an 
interval of time of which we cannot fix the precise limits, the 
occurrence was converted into the appearance of an angel, of two 
angels, and finally of Jesus himself. 



* These are some of the considerations on which this conjectural filling 
up of the conduct of Joseph rests : — 

Firstly, Joseph stood in peril. 

Secondly, He was not of a temper to encounter martyrdom. 

Thirdly, On the other hand, he was attached to Jesus and his disciples, 
and would be unwilling to cast them off harshly. 

Fourthly, The expedient in question would seem to meet all these three 
difficulties. 

Fifthly, The character of the disciples, for the most part simple country 
people, and believers in miracles, admitted of its being practised upon them. 

Sixthly, Joseph had better means than any of the disciples of knowing 
what became of the body of Jesus. The total absence, therefore, of his 
important testimony on either side of the question, confirms the suspicion 
that he had some peculiar motives for silence. 

Seventhly, The conduct and writings of the disciples show that most of 
them were sincere believers in the resurrection and approaching re-appear- 
ance of their master. 

The probabilities respecting the disposal of the remains of Jesus will be 
considered more amply in the chapter on the resurrection. 

f Mark xvi. 5 — 7, " And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young 
man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment ; and they 
were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted ; ye seek Jesus 
of Nazareth, which was crucified ; he is risen, he is not here ; behold the 
place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter, 
that he goeth before you into Galilee ; there shall ye see him, as he said 
unto you." 

This ageees nearly with the accounts of Matthew and Luke, except that 
Luke mentions two men at the tomb, and Matthew adds an earthquake. 
John says that Mary Magdalene saw the stone taken away when she first 
came, and, on coming a second time, saw the two men or angels. The 
concurrent testimony of the first three, not essentially contradicted by John, 
is thus in favour of the fact, that the women who visited the tomb were 
told by some one there that Jesus was risen, and gone into Galilee. After 
this the four accounts diverge into numberless contradictions. 

It seems very probable that Joseph should endeavour to convey an inti- 
mation to the disciples to return into Galilee. But all the accounts are 



42 HISTORICAL 8KETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

The disciples at first treated the accounts of the women as idle 
tales ; but could not remain unconvinced that the body had really- 
disappeared. Thus Jesus seemed to meet with the same distinc- 
tion as Moses, of whose sepulchre no man knew. The absence of 
the lifeless remains allowed full scope for the imagination.* The 
Messiah might expect to be favoured with proofs of the Divine 
approbation similar to those which had been granted to the eminent 
servants of God of old, Enoch, Moses, and Elias. He had been 
raised from the dead, some bright cloud had served, like the fiery- 
car of Elias, to convey him into heaven, whence they might expect 
to see him return when the proper time for revealing his kingdom 
should arrive. The mystery of the Messiah's sudden death appeared 
to be thus explained ; the error had been theirs to suppose that 
they knew the right time and season for rescuing Israel, which the 
Father had reserved in his own power. Passages of Scripture were 
remembered, of which the Messiah's resurrection seemed, to afford 
a new and sublime fulfilment ; f and every text capable in the 
remotest manner of affording this sense supplied additional and 
indisputable proof of the fact. It was natural also to suppose that, 
in his superhuman state, Jesus might, before ascending into heaven, 
make himself visible to his followers. Accordingly, accounts of 
actual appearances of Jesus soon found their way into the narra- 
tions of the events attending his supposed resurrection ; imagi- 
nation or mistake continually afforded, fresh materials for stories 
of a kind so honourable to the relator, and to the head of the 
church ; and of these stories we have at this day such as were 
current from forty to sixty years after the death of Jesus. 

The disciples probably without delay took refuge in Galilee, J 

evidently coloured from the subsequent ideas of the church, and the attri- 
buting this message to Joseph is perhaps the most hazardous part of the 
conjecture. 

* Luke xxiv. 12. " Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre, and 
stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed 
wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." 

John xx. 6 — 9. " Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and went 
into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie ; and the napkin that was 
about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a 
place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple which came first to 
the sepulchre, and he saw and believed. For as yet they knew not the 
Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead." 

f See chap. xii. The Jews never expected that the Messiah was to rise 
from the dead. Roseum. Schol. in Esaiam xlii. 

% Matthew's account of the return of the disciples into Galilee meets with 
some confirmation from the last chapter of John ; and is probable in itself. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 43 

bearing with them the incipient working of these ideas. The aim 
of Joseph and of the priests was attained so far, that political 
disturbances were prevented. But the life and teachings of the 
Nazarene prophet had left an impulse, which might be partially 
diverted from its first channel, but which could not be sup- 
pressed. 

Before long, another periodical feast gave the followers of Jesus 
the opportunity of re-assembling at Jerusalem. Of these the most 
confidential, Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John, were fishermen 
of Galilee, who had followed Jesus at first in the hope of sharing 
the twelve thrones over the tribes of Israel, and afterwards from 
habit and attachment. After their long-imagined exaltation into 
companions of the Messiah, they could not return contentedly to 
obscurity. Although dismayed at first by the fate of their expected 
king, their hopes easily revived on behalf of a cause for which they 
had forsaken all. The apparently mysterious circumstances at- 
tending the death of Jesus strengthened their belief in his Messiah- 
ship, and the expectation of his approaching kingdom returned as 
the belief of his future re-appearance gained ground. The leader- 
ship of their society seemed due to Peter, whom Jesus had dis- 
tinguished as his chief supporter. To be raised to the command 
over former associates and equals is gratifying to men in almost 
any circumstances ; therefore, independently of the motives arising 
from religious zeal and a sincere attachment to a common cause, it 
was natural that succeeding to John the Baptist and Jesus, and 
presiding over a company of their followers, although attended 
with some danger, should seem to Peter preferable to casting nets 
again upon the sea of Tiberias. 

The attainment of the Messiah's kingdom by means of a na- 
tional insurrection, if it ever had been contemplated by Jesus, had 
ceased to be so, at latest, after his arrival at Jerusalem; and now 
the expectation of his approaching miraculous re-appearance pre- 
cluded, on the part of his disciples, any idea of a revolution 
similar to that attempted by their countryman Judas twenty-five 
years previously. They were not called upon to act, in order to 
attain the kingdom, but to wait. The company ceased to bear a 
resemblance to a band of missionary revolutionists, and fell into 

The provincials were always accustomed to return from Jerusalem, after the 
feast, and the alarm of the disciples would hasten their departure. There 
was time for such a journey between the Passover and the day of Pentecost, 
viz. seven weeks. The accounts of Mark, Luke, and John, of the proceedings 
after the crucifixion, are so imperfect as to leave room for such a journey. 



44 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

the form of a small religious fraternity, having for their bond of 
union the same doctrine as that which had been preached by John 
the Baptist, and afterwards by Jesus, viz. the approach of the 
kingdom of heaven foretold by the prophets; as a preparation 
for which, it was necessary for men to repent of the prevailing 
wickedness of the age, and to adopt purity of life. To this they 
now added, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, that he had 
risen from the dead, that he would soon appear in his proper cha- 
racter of King of Israel,* and introduce the kingdom. 

The Essenes had set the example of societies living in voluntary 
union, having their property in common, and acting in a remark- 
able degree on the principles of benevolence and moral purity. 
Jesus had also recommended mutual attachment as the distinctive 
sign of his followers. Their society bore, therefore, a close resem- 
blance to those of the other Essenes ;f but it was free from the 
more rigid austerities of that sect, and animated by all the new 
views which Jesus had introduced. 

There was much in such a society to attract the better sort of 
the Jews. In it were to be found in full force all the themes of in- 
terest peculiar to their nation, the acknowledgment of Moses, the 
law, and the prophets, refreshed by an application to present times 
and events, and by the addition of some new and stirring topics. 
Antiquity alone could not maintain the interest of the Mosaic 
worship amidst the growing wants of the age, and the followers of 
Jesus brought the necessary revival. In the system of Moses 
also there was this important omission, that nothing was said of 
the resurrection of the dead. This doctrine, which had grown up 
in different forms in almost every nation of the world, had spread 
rapidly among the Jews since their contact with the Chaldeans. 
At the time of Christ it was one of the chief questions of the day, 
and its opponents, the Sadducees, were a small minority. The 
asserted resurrection of Jesus strikingly confirmed the Pharisaic, 



* Acts ii. 22 — 40. In this sermon Peter mentions Christ as him who was 
to sit on the throne of David, iii. 13 — 26. Here Peter insists that Jesus was 
he whom the prophets had foretold. All the Jews understood this to be a 
great king of Israel, iv. 10—12, 25—27 ; v. 29—32. 

f It seems probable that most of the disciples were Essenes; because, 
Firstly, They were neither Pharisees nor Sadducees. Secondly, The Essenes 
were chiefly of the lower orders. Thirdly, The society formed by them, as 
described in the Acts, resembles closely those of the Essenes generally, as 
described by Josephus. Fourthly, the name Esscne never occurs in the 
New Testmeiit, whilst the Pharisees and Sadducees arc frequently alluded 



JESUS TO THE END OP THE FIRST CENTURY. 45 

which was also the popular belief, of a resurrection of the dead. 
Moreover, the favourite Jewish notion of the future greatness of 
their nation was not yet laid aside. Even the peaceable Jews, 
most averse to attempts at all resembling that of Judas, might feel 
their imagination and patriotic feelings attracted to the doctrine of 
a redemption of Israel to be fought for by argument, and attained 
by patience, faith, and reformation. Also, the system of having all 
property in common, and of living in a state of brotherhood, has 
many attractions. To all which was added the claim of miraculous 
powers of an unusual extent, supported continually by highly- 
coloured versions of ordinary occurrences, by pious fictions, and, 
in some fortunate instances, bj apparently visible proofs.* 

The hundred and twenty persons, therefore, of whom Peter and 
the other apostles found themselves the leaders, were soon joined 
by increasing numbers. f The aspect of the society became less 
obnoxious to the Jewish rulers than in the lifetime of Jesus, 
because there was now amongst them no living claimant of the 
throne of David. The doctrine of a Messiah to come from heaven 
did not appear very dangerous to men of the world ; and in other 
points the followers of Jesus appeared outwardly merely as a new 
and zealous branch of a religious sect, combining many pecularities 
of the Essenes with a harmless version of Galilean views. Besides, 
the doctrine of the resurrection, which they made so prominent, 
was calculated to conciliate towards them the Pharisaic part of 
the community 4 Consequently the priests, after some irresolute 

to ; which is singular, except on the supposition that the disciples were 
Essenes themselves, and have therefore noticed this third important sect 
under the names, brethren, disciples, elect, saints, &c. 

Many members of the previously existing sects might have adopted the 
whole or part of the notions of Judas, without renouncing their own 
peculiarities. 

* See remarks on the miracles in the Acts, ch. x. 

f By three thousand on the day of Pentecost, or about seven weeks after 
the death of Jesus (Acts ii. 41) ; and by five thousand soon after (Acts 
iv. 4). In this latter case, however, it is only said they believed on Peter's 
preaching, and not, as in the former, that they were baptized and added unto 
them. 

t The Sadducees appear as their chief opponents in the Acts, iv. 1 ; v. 17. 
It is not probable however that the doctrine of the resurrection was the 
main cause of the rigour of the Sadducees (Acts iv. 2), because that doctrine 
had been taught to the people long before. But the Sadducees at that time 
held the priesthood ; they were bound to maintain tranquility, and might 
naturally fear at first a continuation of the supposed seditious designs of 
Jesus. Acts iv. 18 ; v. 28, "Ye intend to bring this man's blood upon us." 



46 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

efforts to stop the Apostles' public preaching,* more calculated to 
stimulate than effectually check them, decidided upon letting them 
alone. The society soon afterwards became respectable in a worldly 
sense, by the open accession of Barnabas and other men of wealth, 
and in a few years even of part of the priests. f 

This state of calm and prosperity^ lasted long enough for the 
infant church to become a numerous, compact, and well-organized 
society, appearing to outward observers chiefly as a modification of 
the Essene sect, but having within itself all the zeal and vitality 
which new-born notions usually impart. But after a time a ques- 
tion arose which ended in separating them from the rest of the 
Jews, and showing them to the world as a distinct body. 

Jesus had himself observed the ritual laws of Moses, and had not 
authorized their disuse. But the spirit of his preceptive discourses 
was to make light of ceremonies in comparison with morality. § 
Hence Moses and Jesus came to appear somewhat at variance ; and 
as there are always found men to widen a difference, some of the 
new converts went so far as to preach that the law of Moses was 
entirely superseded by the new prophet of Nazareth. || This 
brought the society into dislike with the stricter part of the Jews ; 
a zeal was re-kindled for the honour of Moses and the law ; the 
fury of part of the populace was excited by the adherents of old 
customs against the supposed innovators ; and Stephen, one of the 
most forward of the liberalizing converts, was stoned. 

The decided hostility of the rigid Mosaic party procured to the 
new sect the reputation of indifference, at least, to the laws of 
Moses. The society thus became an object of persecution; but 
was, at the same time, forced into a position which more than com- 



* Acts iv. 21, So when they had further threatened them, they let them 
go ; v. 38 — 40, And to him (Gamaliel) they agreed : and when they had 
called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not 
speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 

f Acts iv. 36 ; vi. 7. 

j Acts iv. 32 — 34, And the multitude of them that believed were of one 
heart and one soul . . . neither was there any among them that lacked, 
vi. 1, And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, 
there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their 
widows were neglected in the daily ministration. 

§ Matt, xxiii. 23. 

|| Stephen was accused of having said that " Jesus of Nazareth shall de- 
stroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered." 
Although the writer calls the accusers false witnesses, Stephen does not at 
all contradict this in his defence. Acts vi. vii. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 47 

pensated for the inconveniences resulting from the occasional and 
and local attacks of a bigoted party. 

The belief in one universal invisible Deity, held by the Jews, 
was so sublime in comparison with the established creeds of the 
neighbouring nations, that when the Jews came to have frequent 
intercourse with them, numbers were inclined to embrace Judaism.* 
It was the only well-defined system of monotheism then known, 
and from the time of Alexander had made much progress among 
the Greeks. The chief obstacle was circumcision, f and other 
inconvenient rites of the Mosaic code. In proportion, therefore, 
as the new sect became unpopular with the most orthodox of the 
Jews, it became acceptable to the Judaizing Gentiles. 

The Essene sect, under its new or Christianized form, now 
counted in its numbers many Jewish priests and men of rank ; the 
Pharisees looked upon it favourably ; J and it had obtained a repu- 
tation for the practice of a purer morality, and for superior skill 
in the interpretation of the prophets. § John the Baptist, Jesus, 
and their followers, had given to it great notoriety, and caused it 
to be regarded as the most stirring and active of the Jewish sects ; 
whilst the peculiar heresy which had begun to grow up in its 
bosom was of a nature more likely to recommend than to inculpate 
it in the eyes of strangers. The philosophic or religious Gentiles, 
who were inclined towards speculative Judaism, were therefore 
naturally attracted to this sect in preference ; and Cornelius, a 
centurion of Cesarea, sent to Peter a request to be instructed in its 
doctrines. [A. D. 41.] Peter went to him with some of the 
brethren ; and the interview ended in the conversion of Cornelius 



* Ezra and Nehemiah passim. Josephus against Apion, book ii. sect. 
40, "Nay, farther, the multitude of mankind itself have had a great incli- 
nation of a long time to follow our religious observances . . . and as God 
himself pervades all the world, so hath our law passed through all the 
world also." 

f See the story of Izates, king of Adiabene, Jos. Antiq. xx. ii. 3. 

J Acts xv. 5 ; xxiii. 9. 

§ Josephus not only mentions this as one of the characteristics of the 
Essenes, but allows them pre-eminence in the gift of prophecy among them- 
selves, and gives several stories in confirmation of it. Antiq. xvii. 13, 3j 
xv. 10, 5. "We have thought it proper to relate these facts to our readers, 
bow strange soever they be, and to declare what hath happened among us, 
because many of these Essenes have, by their excellent virtue, been thought 
worthy of this knowledge of divine revelations." — War, i. 3, 5. This agrees 
with the stress laid upon the fulfilment of prophecy, and the pretensions to 
prophecy, in the New Testament. 






48 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

and his household, who exhibited at its close some of the powers 
regarded by the church as tokens of the Holy Spirit, viz., extem- 
poraneous praying and preaching. This appeared to Peter suffi- 
cient reason for not refusing so important a convert, and Cornelius 
was baptized as a disciple of Jesus. On their arrival at Jerusalem, 
Peter and his friends were called to account by the more orthodox 
or Mosaic part of the brethren for admitting Cornelius without 
circumcision ; but this objection was silenced by the assertion, that 
the whole affair was conducted in obedience to divine inspiration, 
which was confirmed by the gift of the Holy Spirit to the new 
converts. This first Gentile conversion was soon followed by 
numerous others ; and the question of the necessity of circumcision 
was kept up as a matter of dispute not only between the new sect 
and the other Jews, but amongst the members of that sect itself. 
Peter and the other leading disciples had at first entertained no 
idea of extending their society beyond their own nation,* to which 
the original idea of the kingdom of heaven did seem chiefly to 
apply ; but as Galileans, their attachment to the ritual law of 
Moses was less firm than that of the Jews of Jerusalem ; and per- 
ceiving the immense increase to their society which the relaxation 
of the ritual yoke in favour of the Gentiles promised, as well as 
being influenced by the more enlarged spirit which the discourses 
of Jesus tended to encourage, they decided upon maintaining the 
liberal principle, and receiving the Gentiles as converts on their 
simple profession of adherence to Jesus as the Messiah, leaving 
every member of their sect free to follow the law of Moses or not, 
according to his own inclination and previous habits. This was 
finally settled by a council of the Apostles held at Jerusalem - ]" A. D. 
51. But even their decision was not received cordially by a large 
portion of the Jewish church, who continued to observe strictly the 
laws of Moses, and whose prejudices on this point continued so 
strong, that Peter and James found it difficult to avoid occasions 



* Aots x. 34 — 36, 45 ; xi. 18, 19. The .Ethiopian appears to have been 
a Jewish proselyte. 

f Acts xv. According to the custom of the times, the arguments used 
were chiefly, the manifestation of the divine will by means of visible signs, 
and the authority of the prophets. The predictions of the dominion which 
the house of David would obtain over Edom and the heathens were boldly 
strained to signify the conversion of the Gentiles. Peter ventures to in- 
troduce the merely rational argument of the heaviness of the Mosaio yoke, 
but relies more upon the testimony afforded by the Holy Spirit. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 49 

of dispute and scandal, in practising the liberality which they had 
sanctioned.* 

. About the time of the first Gentile conversion, a modification 
begins to appear in the character ascribed to the Messiah. By the 
first disciples he had been generally considered as the successor of 
David, and destined to restore the throne of Israel. But this was 
of little interest to the Gentiles. The method of interpreting the 
prophecies then in use easily admitted of an extension of the titles 
and offices of the Messiah, and he was invested with a more univer- 
sally interesting character, that of the destined Judge of mankind. f 
Distance of time, and unacquaintance with his person, now also 
began to enhance the venerableness of the head of the sect, and 
to prepare men's minds for more exalted notions of his character. 

The peculiarity of the belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the 
Christ, and the numbers of those holding it, began now to procure 
to the sect a distinctive name ; and the disciples were called 
Christians first at Antioch [A. D. 43]. The distinction, however, 
was not generally attended to till a long time afterwards ; and for 
nearly a century later we find the followers of Jesus noticed under 
various and more general names. Among themselves they still 
used the terms disciples, brethren, elect, or saints ; by their oppo- 
nents they were called Nazarenes or Galileans ; by friendly Jewish 
writers, Essenes ; whilst the heathens, to most of whom these dis- 
tinctions were unknown or uninteresting, classed them loosely as 
Jews.J 



* Acts xxi. 20 ; Galatians ii. 12. 

f In the Acts this character is not attributed to Jesus before the sermon 
to Cornelius, x. 42. It occurs again in Paul's discourse to the Athenians, 
xvii. 32. 

+ The name Christian being for some time probably considered as a deri- 
sive epithet, like those of Millenarians, or fifth-monarchy men, it was 
natural for grave and friendly writers, like Philo and Josephus, to prefer 
the use of the older and better-known name of Essenes, which, since the 
death of Jesus, and the modification of their political hopes, would seem 
to suit them tolerably accurately. The following is perhaps an allowable 
conjecture as to the motives of Josephus in omitting an account of Jesus 
Christ (for the absence of quotation before Eusebius, even on the part of 
the Fathers who appealed strenuously to Josephus, combined with the 
internal evidence of forgery, appear sufficient to exclude from consideration 
the celebrated passage Antiq. xviii. 3, 3.) : — He looked favourably on the 
Essenes, and, in the many important respects in which the early Jewish 
Christians might be considered as identical with that more ancient sect, 
he has done them ample justice under that name. But the principal fea- 



50 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

The steadfastness of part of the followers of Jesus to the law of 
Moses, was insufficient to remove the taint which had adhered to 
the whole body since the death of Stephen. The Jews of Jerusa- 
lem were amongst those who cherished most sensitively the remnant 



tore which the doctrine or philosophy of the church exhibited in addition 
to that of the ancient sect, the recognition of a Messiah and a kingdom of 
God soon to appear, Josephus would consider as a part of the notions de- 
rived from Judas, which in his opinion produced all the subsequent mis- 
chiefs. Moreover when he wrote his Antiquities (between A.D. 75 and 93) 
the Christians had very generally forsaken the law of Moses. Hence he 
would regard the church with mixed feelings ; with esteem, as being ori- 
ginally in great part a continuation of the Essene sect ; with impatience, 
as to all that constituted novelty : " This new system of philosophy, which 
before we were unacquainted withal," which occasioned "the customs of 
our fathers to be altered." This expresses more than could apply to the 
Sicarii, and other military sectarians, to whom alone, although followers of 
Judas in some important particulars, the appellation of "fourth philosophic 
sect " does not seem very suitable. The pre-eminently religious or philo- 
sophical character of the Christians when Josephus wrote, led him to blend 
all those who held the prominent doctrine of Judas, however they might 
differ in other respects, under one name of fourth philosophic sect. Hence 
his descriptions of both the third and fourth sects are both of them in 
part, but neither of them throughout, applicable to the Christians. Sects 
continually run into each other, especially when they are regarded in a po- 
litical as well as a religious view. Josephus could not foresee that, in a 
century or two, the body of Galilean Essenes beginning to be called 
Christians, would become so much more important than any of the other 
sects, or subdivisions of sects, that he ought to describe a fourth philosophic 
sect under that name, and as made up of those peculiarities alone which 
characterized them. 

With respect to Jesus himself, it is not improbable that the commenda- 
tions which he would have given to him, as to John, in his character of a 
distinguished teacher of the Essene school, were restrained by the appa- 
rent points of resemblance of Jesus to some of the more dangerous followers 
of Judas. He had actually been executed on a charge of sedition against 
the Roman Government. Josephus was anxious that his book should be 
favourably received by the Roman court. Hence he ostentatiously blames 
the pretenders to divine aid who excited the hope of liberty among the 
people ; but refrains from applying this directly to Jesus, from his real 
regard for all moral and religious merit. Allowing these different feelings 
to have existed, it is difficult to imagine what he could have said, so as to 
please both himself and his Roman readers. 

It is certainly not impossible that the hand which inserted one passage 
in Josephus, could have taken out another, and that the original copies 
might have contained some allusion to Jesus, which was not approved by 
the Christian corrector. But there is no trace of evidence for this ; and 
the context, in the place referred to, is against the supposition of there 
having been any intermediate passage. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 51 

of their ancient glory embodied in the law, and the Roman procura- 
tors had frequently been astonished at the prompt self-devotion 
with which citizens who had submitted to other grievances, resisted 
to the death the slightest infringement of their religious customs. 
Repeated imperial edicts had enjoined that the religious rites of 
the Jews should not be interfered with, and the procurators were 
in general solicitous only to detect attempts at sedition, without 
concerning themselves with questions relating to the Jewish law. 
But the (Sadducees, who frequently held the priesthood during the 
rise of the church, seconded the zeal of the Mosaic party, and ex- 
erted themselves vigilantly to punish every infraction of the law of 
Moses, influenced perhaps less by a reverence for the voice which 
had spoken from the burning bush,* than by the calculation that a 
more strict adherence than ever to the ancient written constitution 
of their ancestors, would be the best means of preserving the 
priesthood from utter extinction. f A body of men suspected of 
an inclination to subvert the laws of Moses would therefore be ex- 
posed to unceasing hostility from numerous bigots, both interested 
and disinterested. Herod Agrippa, whose kingdom had been ex- 
tended by Claudius over Judea, had already signalized himself by a 
successful defence of the law, and was anxious to conciliate his 
new subjects by his minute religious orthodoxy 4 An attempt of 
some young men of Doris to place Caesar's statue in a synagogue, 
excited the ever wakeful jealousy of the Jews, and gave Herod 
Agrippa an opportunity of displaying his zeal.§ Although in 



* It would be unreasonable to attribute to these free-thinkers of the 
highest rank, a greater degree of faith than appears in Josephus himself. 

f The interference of Herod the Idumean aud his successors, and of the 
Eoman procurators, had much lowered the dignity of the priesthood since 
the days of the Asmonean dynasty. The most noble Jewish families, both 
Sadducees and Pharisees, were accustomed to share the various offices in 
the priesthood among their members, and were naturally anxious to main- 
tain unimpaired this potent means of wealth and influence. Doctrines de- 
rogatory to the law of Moses struck at its root. Hence probably the 
characteristic mentioned by Josephus ; " The Sadducees are very rigid in 
judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews," — Antiq. xx. 9, 1 ; a re- 
mark apparently applicable to the period when they so frequently held the 
priesthood. But there can be no doubt that this policy was supported by 
the sincere attachment of many of the Jews to their ancient law. 

\ See amongst other proofs, his commanding the Nazarites to have their 
heads shorn. Antiq. xix. 6, 1. 

§ Ibid. xix. 6, 3. 



52 HISTORICAL SKETCH, PROM THE DEATH OF 

many respects an enlightened and liberal prince, he probably found 
persecution of an obnoxious party an easy means of popularity, 
and the doctrines of part of the new sect might serve for a pretext 
as well as the attempt at Doris. James, the brother of John, was 
put to death, and Peter underwent a temporary imprisonment. 
But the persecution does not appear to have extended further, and 
after the death of Herod [A.D. 44] the Christians continued to 
increase.* 

Peter shrank from the odium which he must incur with his own 
countrymen in maintaining the liberal principle which he had been 
the first to advocate. He left to others the task of carrying it out 
to its full extent. The convert who took the lead in abrogating 
the law of Moses in favour of the Gentiles, was Saul, afterwards 
Paul, of Tarsus, of a Gentile nation, but of a family professing the 
Jewish religion. Being a man of a warm and vehement temper, 
of great abilities, of a frank and generous disposition, and of a 
liberal mind, he was qualified to take the foremost part in any 
undertaking to which he joined himself. Educated under a Jewish 
doctor of law, he was well versed in the learning and methods of 
argument of the time, and was fond of striking out original views. f 
He had been, at first, a zealous defender of Mosaic Judaism, $ and 
an enemy to the innovating sect; but their doctrines accorded 
much better with his own turn of mind, as affording more scope 
for imagination and speculation than the old and narrow system of 
Moses. Even whilst persecuting the Christians, he could not help 
becoming acquainted with their views : the trial of Stephen called 
more general attention to them ; his reflections on the last dis- 
course and death of the martyr induced Paul to pause; and the 
visions and meditations of three years spent at Damascus and in 
Arabia left him a zealous advocate of the new sect. But a man of 
his talents could not be a mere follower ; he must impart his own 
view to the cause which he undertook, and it was this, — to an- 



* Acts xii. 24. 

f Paul seems to have been very jealous of the originality of his preach- 
ing, and desirous not to be considered a mere follower of the Apostles. 
Gal. ii. 6, But of those who seemed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, 
it maketh no matter to me, God accepteth no man's person), for they who 
seemed to be somewhat, in conference added nothing to me . . . For he that 
wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of ike circumcision, the same 
was mighty in me towards the Gentiles. See also Romans xv. 20 ; ii. 16 ; 
2 Tim. ii. 8 ; 2 Cor. xi. 5. 

% Gal. i. 13, 14. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 53 

nounce the fulfilment of the Mosaic law by the coming of the 
Messiah, and to establish in its place an universal religion, em- 
bracing equally Jew and Gentile.* The doctrines of the new sect 
were a fit basis for this enlarged plan, since the recognition of the 
Christ as their common head afforded a point of union ; and the 
advent of the Messiah supposed to be predicted by Moses and the 
prophets was necessary to authorize the assertion that the law had 
been fulfilled, and might be laid aside. As a Pharisee, he had 
held the doctrine of a resurrection in opposition to the Sadducees, 
and the story of the resurrection of Jesus fell in with this belief. 
The moral preaching of Jesus, giving the preference to virtue over 
ceremonies, was favourable to a liberal plan of religion. The be- 
lief, that the office of the Messiah was to restore the throne of 
David, had already begun to be modified. The form, then, which 
the Essene Judaism assumed in the hands of Paul was this, — 
that men were everywhere called to repentance and purity of life, 
in order to prepare them for the kingdom of God and the second 
coming of the Messiah or Christ,! whose office was to judge the 
world ; J that Jesus of Nazareth had been proved to be the Messiah 
by being raised from the dead ; and that, in order to partake in the 
privileges of his kingdom, an open acknowledgment of his authority, 
and a belief in his resurrection, were alone necessary. § 

The liberalism, of which Jesus had sown the seed, being thus 
developed by Paul, Christianity received from him an additional 
vigorous impulse, and henceforward its progress becomes almost 
identified with that of his preaching and labours. 

Among the many pretenders to divine missions who appeared 
in Judea, were more than one who deserved to be classed as philo- 



* Kom. x. 12, For there is no difference between the Jew and the 
Greek : for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 
Gal. iii. 28, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, 
there is neither male nor female : for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Eph. 
ii. 14, For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken 
down the middle wall of partition between us ; having abolished in his flesh 
the enmitv, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances. 
Gal. vi. 15 ; Eph. i. 10 ; Col. ii. 14 ; Eom. iii. 22—30. 

f Rom. xiv. 17 ; 1 Cor. i. 7 ; Phil. iii. 20 ; 1 Thess. i. 10 ; ii. 12 ; 
iii. 13 ; iv. 16 ; v. 2 ; 2 Thess. i. 7 ; 2 Tim. i. 9 ; iv. 1 ; Tit, ii. 12—14. 

X Acts xvii. 31 ; Rom. ii. 16. 

§ Rom. x. 9, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and 
shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt 
be saved. Acts xiii. 38 — 41 ; xxvi. 16 — 23 ; and the Epistles passim. 



54 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

sophic enthusiasts rather than impostors. Simon of Samaria, 
commonly called Simon Magus, taught that emanations of the 
Divine nature were embodied in himself and in his wife Helena, 
that he had received a commission to subdue the evil influences or 
daemons, which caused the miseries of the world, and to conduct 
mankind to their greatest happiness. He held that matter was 
the principle farthest removed from the Divine essence, and that 
the aim of philosophy should be to deliver the soul from its 
imprisonment in matter, and to restore it to the divine light from 
which it was derived ; for which purpose the Deity had sent one 
of his first (Eons or emanations among men.* By means of the 
scientific skill acquired during his visit to Egypt, or assisted 
probably by the audacity proceeding from sincere enthusiasm, he 
was able to perform miracles sufficiently clear and numerous to 
convince multitudes of the Samaritans, from the lowest to the 
greatest. - } - By this attractive method of proof, and by the addition 
of some doctrines less philosophical than those referred to, he had 
obtained, soon after the death of Jesus, an extensive admission of 
his claim to be called the "great power of God." Of his subse- 
quent history few traces can be found.J Another Samaritan 
named Dositheus, offered himself to the Jews as their Messiah ; 
but finding no support from them, he endeavoured to persuade the 
Samaritans that he was the prophet predicted by Moses, devoting 
himself to the inculcation of an austere philosophy. Menander, 
also a Samaritan, copied more closely the example of Simon, both 
in his precepts, and in the title assumed, a" great power of God." 
The sect of Simon obtained much celebrity near his own time, 
and he was considered by some as the head of the Gnostics. But 
• although his mystical speculations might suit the taste of a certain 
age of philosophy, his precepts and the events of his life failed to 
embody with them enough to interest mankind permanently, and 
after a few centuries his name was scarcely remembered. 



* This account of Simon's notions is copied very nearly from Enfield, 
who appears to have collected it from the scattered notices in the Christian 
fathers. f Acts viii. 10. 

J The Samaritan fanatic, who " thought lying of little consequence," 
described by Josephus, Ant. xviii. 4, 1. I hesitate to consider the same as 
Simon Magus, because Josephus would most likely have alluded to his 
philosophical character, as he has done in the case of John the Baptist ; or 
at least spoken in less contemptuous terms of the head of a philosophical 
sect. The account coming from a hostile sect, Acts viii., should be received 
with some caution. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTUKY. 55 

Judaism, or the religionof one Deity, as reformed by Paul, and 
disencumbered of circumcision and the Mosaic rites, found a ready 
reception amongst the Greeks and Romans, with whom polytheism 
was nearly grown out of fashion. The philosophy of Epicurus 
had degenerated into sensualism. Platonism consisted of specula- 
tions unintelligible out of the schools. Christianity as preached 
by Paul was well adapted to fill the void in the philosophic and 
religious world. It contained the sublime and agreeable doctrines 
of the paternal character of God and the resurrection of mankind : 
its asserted miracles and accomplished prophecies, the resurrection 
of Jesus, and the coming judgment of the world, were of a nature 
to please and excite the imagination ; and its fraternal system of 
society tended to excite emulation and keep up enthusiasm. To 
follow a crucified Jew might be at first a fearful stumbling-block ; 
but the mournful fates of Osiris, Adonis, and Hercules, followed 
by a glorious apotheosis, would suggest parallels sufficient to throw 
lustre on the story of Jesus ; and the Messiah, persecuted to death 
and raised again, probably appealed more strongly to the imagi- 
nation and the heart than if he had appeared merely as another 
triumphant hero demanding allegiance. Besides, the death of 
Christ came to be invested with a mysterious grandeur, by being 
represented as the great antetype of an ancient and venerable 
system of sacrifices, and as the. offering of a paschal lamb on behalf 
of all mankind.* 

Notwithstanding the cordiality shown towards Paul by Peter 
and James, his claim to rank with the Apostles of Jesus met with 
some opposition, for it might be objected that he had not received 
his appointment from Jesus, nor even seen him. But accounts of 
the appearance of Jesus to him in visions supplied this want, and 
his talents and labours soon completed his title to the rank of 
apostle to the Gentiles. f He joined to vehemence an indefatigable 



* The comparison of Christ's death to the lamb killed at the passover was 
too obvious not to be frequently introduced by persons familiar with the 
Jewish rites. But it does not appear to be insisted on as a doctrine in the 
New Testament. Even in the Epistle to the Hebrews, it stands in the 
same light as the comparison of Christ as a priest to Melchizedec. 

f The Ebionites, however, i. e. the Jewish Christians who adhered to 
the law of Moses, never admitted the authority of Paul. Iren. 1. i. c. 26. 
al. 25. Orig. Cont. Cel. 1. v. Euseb. H. E. 1. iii. cap. 27. The author of 
the Recognitions of Clement, supposed to be an Ebionite, (Lardner, Cred. 
part ii. en. 29,) has a passage which seems expressly intended to caution his 
readers against the pretensions of Paul. " Propter quod observate cautius, 



56 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

perseverance, and, being a man of learning and education, -was su- 
perior to vulgar fanatics, in being able to accommodate bis argu- 
ments in some degree to tbe various tastes of bis auditors. He 
taugbt tbe Roman officers not to confound tbe followers of Cbrist 
with Galilean movers of sedition.* Before Jewish synagogues be 
quoted cbiefly tbe law and tbe prophets ;f with tbe Gentiles be 
could also argue from their own authors, or appeal to natural 
reason.J Such a man could not fail to be heard in any country ; 
and within twenty-four years from his conversion, [A. D. 37 — 61, j 
he and his companions had planted numerous churches in Asia 
Minor, several in Macedonia and Greece, and one at Rome. 

The society in Judea fell comparatively into tbe shade. Its 
chiefs, Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, were in education 
and ability inferior to Paul ; and their sanction of the admission 
of Gentiles into tbe church without conformity to the law of 
Moses, had brought them into an unfavourable position with re- 
spect to their countrymen, who in general were more attached to 
their ancient code than the Greeks were to their variegated 
idolatry. The greater part of tbe Jewish church itself seems to 
have withstood the authority of the council of apostles, and to 
have insisted on the necessity of tbe Mosaic law.§ It is probable 

ut nulli doctorum credatis, nisi qui Jacobi fratris Domini ex Hierusalem 
detulerit testimonium, vel ejus quicumque post ipsum fuerit. Nisi enim 
quis illuc ascendent, et ibi fuerit probatus quod sit doctor idoneus, et fidelis, 
ad pradicandum Christi verbum ; nisi inquam, inde tulerit testimonium, 
recipiendus omnino non est. Sed neque propheta, neque apostolus, in hoc 
tempore, speretur a vobis aliquis alius prater nos. Unus enim est verus 
propheta, cujus nos duodecim apostoli verba pradicamus. Ipse enim 
est annus Dei acceptus, nos apostolos habens duodecim menses." — L. iv. 
sect. 35. According to which, Paul was excluded from the apostleship, 
for he declared that those at Jerusalem had added nothing to him, and that 
he had not received his commission from men. Gal. i. ii. 

The tone of Irenaus towards the rejectors of Paul is apologetic rather 
than reprobatory : " Eadem autem dicimus et his qui Paulum apostolum 
non cognoscunt, quoniam aut reliquis verbis Evangelii, qua per solum 
Lucam in nostram venerunt agnitionem, renuntiari debent, et non uti eis ; 
aut si ilia recipiunt omnia, habent necessitatem recipere etiam earn testifica- 
tionem qua est de Paulo." — Cont. Har. 1. iii. 15. i. 

* Acts xxiii. 29 ; xxiv. 10—23 ; xxvii. 3. 

f Acts xiii. 33—41 ; xxviii. 23. 

t Acts xiv. 15—17 ; xvii. 24—29. 

§ Acts xxi. 18 — 26. James and the elders remonstrate thus with Paul : 
" Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe, 
and they are all zealous of the law," and urge him to perform a Mosaic rite 
in order to conciliate them. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 57 

that the liberality of the heads of the Jewish church, and the 
bigotry of its members, both contributed to bring it into disrepute; 
the former with the Jews, the latter with the Gentiles. The first 
rapid increase of the Jewish church was therefore checked ; but it 
was too numerous to be rooted out by occasional acts of violence. 

Whilst the followers of Jesus, during the thirty years subse- 
quent to his death, were thus acquiring permanently the character 
of a mere religious sect, and, in so far as they retained any pecu- 
liarities derived from Judas, modifying and enlarging them into 
doctrines which at first sight might appear hardly capable of being 
identified with the original notions ; — others in Judea preserved 
more accurately the impressions left fifty-four years previously by 
the daring and martial Galilean. The spiritual disposition of the 
Essenes, during an interval of comparative political quiet, predo- 
minated in the fusion of the Galilean ideas ; the church had lost 
all thoughts of obtaining deliverance except from the arm of the 
Lord, and occupied itself chiefly with the development of its reli- 
gious doctrines. It is probable even that, in consequence of the 
occasional persecutions which they had undergone from their 
countrymen, and the interest inspired by the extensive Gentile 
conversions, they looked, by this time, to the expected deliverance 
less as a national restoration of Judea, than as the exaltation of 
the Messiah's people gathered from every clime. But enthusiasts 
were not wanting from time to time, who sought to attain a poli- 
tical revival, by means of a combination of divine aid with physical 
insurrection. In the procuratorship of Fadus [about A.D. 46], 
a pretender to miraculous and prophetic powers, named Theudas, 
persuaded many of the people to follow him, promising a sign 
similar to that which accompanied the deliverance under Moses, a 
miraculous passage through the waters. The Roman procurator 
was more fortunate than Pharaoh, and the attempt speedily cost 
the imitator his life.* Under the following procurator, Tiberius 
Alexander, the sons of Judas, James and^imon, were put to death, 

* The following is all that I can find relating to Theudas. " Now it 
came to pass, while Fadus was procurator of Judea, that a certain magician 
whose name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their 
effects with them, and follow him to the river Jordan ; for he told them he 
was a prophet, and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, 
and afford them an easy passage over it ; and many were deluded by his 
words. However, Fadus did not permit them to make any advantage of 
his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen out against them ; who, 
falling upon them unexpectedly, slew many of them, and took many of 



58 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

but on what occasion Josephus does not state. Many restless and 
unprincipled men, professing to aim at the same object as Judas, 
freedom from the rule of all Lords except that of the God of Israel, 
made this a mere pretext for gratifying their love of disorder and 
plunder. The supremacy of the Kingdom of heaven afforded too 
plausible an excuse for numbers whose bad characters set them in 
opposition to all earthly subjection. Bands of the vilest robbers 
and assassins disgraced a cause which had probably originated in 
an effervescence of sincere patriotic and religious zeal ; and, from 
the government of Cumanus till the end of the war, the increasing 
recklessness and ferocity of the advocates of the Galilean notions 
under the names of Sicarii, zealots, and seditious, form a striking 
contrast with the diverging course of that pacific body of men, 
which at one time had seemed to have some remarkable points of 
contact with them.* The increasing miseries which those bands 
of warlike sectaries brought upon Judea, their cruelties especially 
upon the more timid portion of their countrymen, prevent our 
feeling that full admiration which would otherwise have been due 
to their untameable resolution in asserting to the last their 
country's independencef. 



them alive. They also took Theudas alive, and cut off his head, and carried 
it to Jerusalem." — Antiq. xx. 5, 1. 

" For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody, 
to whom a number of men, about 400, joined themselves ; who was slain, 
and all, as many as obeyed (or believed) him {ettuOovto avrio) were scattered 
and brought to nought." — Acts v. 36. 

* From the few materials remaining it is not easy to mark accurately the 
course of the different divisions of the Essenes and Galileans. There ap- 
pears most palpable confusion in the following passage from Rabbi Abra- 
ham in libro Juchasin, fol. 139, 1. "At this time there were three sects, for 
besides the Pharisees and Sadducees, Judas the Galilean began a third sect, 

which is called that of the Essenes the opinion of the Nazarenes, 

who were called Essenes, and the author of whom was Judas the Galilean. 
They indeed occasioned the Jews to rebel against the Romans, saying, that 
no one ought to command other men, nor to be called Lord, except God 
alone." On which Schoettgen remarks (Hor. Heb. in Act. v. 37,) that this 
must be false, because the Essenes existed long before Judas ; yet he thinks 
it very likely that Judas was " Essenorum partibus addictus, although not 
the author of the sect." 

May not the confusion of R. Abraham be unravelled thus : — Many of 
the Essenes adopted part of the doctrines of Judas, and settled afterwards 
into that sect, of which one appellation was Nazarenes ? 

f It is not improbable that 1 Peter ii. 13 — 17, might have been suggested 
by the desire felt on the part of the church to vindicate itself from the impu- 
tation of abusing the doctrine of subjection to God alone. Peter urges the 



JESUS TO THE END OP THE FIRST CENTURY. 59 

In the procurator ships of Felix and Festus, the attempts of 
false prophets became again very frequent. An Egyptian, who 
had induced a multitude to follow him to the Mount of Olives, to 
witness the result of his command to the walls of Jerusalem to 
share the fate of those of Jericho, narrowly escaped with his life 
from the merciless vigilance of Felix ; whose excuse for slaughter- 
ing so promptly a deluded multitude would probably have been, 
that there was too much reason to apprehend that these trials of 
faith would be followed by trials more dangerous to his govern- 
ment.* His severity was imitated by Festus in the case of another 



brethren (probably converted Gentiles,) of Asia Minor, to obey " the king " 
" and governors " — " for so is the will of God, that with well-doing ye may 
put to silence the ignorance of foolish men ; as free, and not using your 
liberty for a cloak of maliciousness (rjjs /castas), but as servants of God." 
This describes exactly the abuse of the doctrines of Judas by the Sicarii, 
which might very naturally be a subject of allusion to Christians elsewhere 
than in Judea. 

* "And now these impostors and deceivers persuaded the multitude to 
follow them into the desert, and pretended that they would exhibit manifest 
wonders and signs, that should be performed by the providence of God. 
And many that were prevailed on by them suffered the punishments of their 
folly ; for Felix brought them back, and then punished them. Moreover, 
there came out of Egypt about this time to Jerusalem, one that said he was 
a prophet, and advised the multitude of the common people to go along with 
him to the Mount of Olives, as it was called, which lay over against the city, 
and at the distance of five furlongs. He said farther, that he would show 
them from hence, how, at his command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall 
down ; and he promised them that he would procure them an entrance into 
the city through those walls, when they were fallen down. Now when Felix 
was informed of these things, he ordered his soldiers to take their weapons, 
and came against them with a great number of horsemen and footmen, from 
Jerusalem, and attacked the Egyptian and the people that were with him. 
He also slew 400 of them, and took 200 alive. But the Egyptian himself 
escaped out of the fight, but did not appear any more. And again the 
robbers stirred up the people to make war with the Komans, and said they 
ought not to obey them at all ; and when any persons would not comply 
with them, they set fire to their villages, and plundered them." — Ant. 
xx. 8, 6. It is worthy of note that the people of Jerusalem assisted Felix in 
his attack on the Egyptian. 

" There was also another body of wicked men gotten together, not so im- 
pure in their actions, but more wicked in their intentions, who laid waste 
the happy state of the city no less than did these murderers. These were 
such men as deceived and deluded the people under pretence of divine in- 
spiration, but were for procuring innovations and changes of the govern- 
ment ; and these prevailed with the multitude to act Like madmen, and 
went before them into the wilderness, as pretending that God would there 
show them the signals of liberty ; but Felix thought this procedure was to 



60 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

self-deluded victim and his followers, who trusted that an assem- 
blage of Israelites retiring into the desert, might again awaken the 
compassion of the God of their fathers.* 

Whilst the next procurator, Albinus, was on his road to Judea, 
[A. D. 62,] the high priest Ananus, a young Sadducee of a violent 
temper, assembled the Sanhedrim in an irregular manner, and 
brought an accusation against the brother of Jesus of Nazareth, 
James the Just, (who had succeeded Peter in the presidency of 
the church, after A. D. 51,) and some other members, as breakers 
of the law.f He succeeded in having them stoned ; j but, in the 



be the beginning of a revolt ; so he sent some horsemen and footmen, both 
armed, who destroyed a great number of them." — War, ii. 13, 4. 

The hasty supposition of the Eoman captain, Acts xxi. 38, that Paul 
might be the escaped Egyptian, seems Very natural, since Paul belonged to 
a sect partly of Galilean origin. The Roman officers could not be expected 
to distinguish at once between the Essene version of the Messiah's kingdom, 
and that of bands who sought nominally the same kingdom, by less harmless 
means. But Paul was very leniently treated by the Roman judges, as soon 
as they could be made to understand in some degree his real character. 

The Roman captain describes the followers of the Egyptian as "mur- 
derers," which agrees with Josephus's description of the " Sicarii," {Ant. 
xx. 8, 10.) the bands whom he seems to consider more especially the inhe- 
ritors of the doctrines of Judas. {War, vii. 8. 1.) 

Schoettgen surely makes the same mistake as the captain when he says, 
" Eli Esseni, et quidem sectatores hujus Judas, vocati vulgo sunt aiKapioi 
Jos. de bello Jud. 7, 29. Scholia Graeca in Act. xxi. u AXXot St Etrcrqvavs 
GiKapiovs uccikovv, ijyovv 4?;Xwraf : citante Drusio de tribus sectis Hebr. 4, 21. 

In Josephus, the Essenes are never called Sicarii or Zealots ; of the first 
he speaks with the highest respect ; of the latter two classes with detesta- 
tion. This, together with the very different characters of the sects, must 
prevent our supposing that any considerable portion of the Essenes became 
Sicarii. But we may perceive how easily they might be confounded : the 
followers of Judas became chiefly Sicarii ; the Essenes had adopted some 
of the notions of Judas, but they became — Christian*. 

* So Festus sent forces, both horsemen and footmen, to fall upon those 
that had been seduced by a certain impostor, who promised them deliver- 
ance and freedom from the miseries they were under, if they would but 
follow him as far as the wilderness. Accordingly those forces that were 
sent destroyed both him that had deluded them, and those that were his 
followers also." — Ant. xx. 8, 10. 

f Ant. xx. 9, 1. The agreement between Josephus and the Acts is re- 
markable. The former says that the accusation was for breaking the law, 
and that " some others" were included in it. James was at the head of the 
liberals respecting the Mosaic law, and some of the elders agreed with him. 

% Hegesippus said that James was killed in a tumult, by being thrown 
down from the temple, assaulted with stones, and at last struck on the head 
by a fuller's pole ; which account was generally received by the Christians 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 61 

dislike which the most equitable of the citizens felt towards this 
proceeding of Ananus, in their stigmatizing it as a breach of the 
law, and in their procuring the deposition of the turbulent high 
priest on this very account, we find striking indications that the 
church must have usually enjoyed that security and toleration 
which its peaceful character merited, and that it was favourably re- 
garded rather than otherwise by many of the most influential as 
well as just citizens.* This martyrdom of James consequently 
left the church in the same tranquil position under his successor 
Simeon. 

Notwithstanding the occasional interruptions referred to, Judea 
enjoyed upon the whole under the procuratorships of Fadus, Alex- 
ander, Cumanus, Felix, and Festus [A. D. 45-63], a long interval 
of comparative tranquillity. Their governmennt, although rigid, 
was not in the main wantonly oppressive ; and their severity to- 
wards robbers and exciters of tumults was beneficial to the peace- 
ably disposed. f But the next procurator, Albinus, [A. D. 63,] 
pushed his extortions so far as to rouse even the nobles to thoughts 
of resistance. Even he was outdone in cruelty by the following 
governor, Gessius Floras, [64,] who, in order to provide an excuse 
with the Koman court, endeavoured deliberately, according to 
Josephus, to goad the Jews to a revolt. Under these two, Judea 



in and before the fourth century. See Lardner, Jc?vish Test., chap. iv. This 
does not essentially disagree with Josephus, for the irregular sentence might 
have been carried into effect in an irregular manner. Lardner however is 
inclined to reject this passage in Josephus, chiefly, it appears, because he 
does not consider it to agree with Hegesippus. But of the two it would be 
reasonable to reject the account of the latter, part of which Lardner himself 
admits to have a fabulous appearance. 

* Josephus does not say a single word expressive of his own opinion of 
James, " the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, and his companions ;" 
except that he evidently agrees with those " equitable citizens" who repro- 
bated the violence used towards them. This veiy silence seems to indicate 
some degree of respect. In the following paragraphs he has occasion to 
mention the Sicarii, and shows very manifestly his abhorrence of them. 
This difference of tone is a confirmation that his description of the Essenes, 
in a much greater degree than that of the Galileans, applies to the early 
church. 

f Acts xxiv. 2, " Seeing that by thee (Felix) we enjoy great quietness." 
The testimony of Tertullus might have been considered as mere rhetoric, if 
it were not confirmed by Josephus, Preface to War, sect, i: — "It had so 
come to pass that our city, Jerusalem, had arrived at a greater degree of 
felicity than any other city under the Roman Government, and yet at last 
fell into the sorest calamities again." 



62 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

became a scene of tumult and misery.* The populace, exasperatei 
by repeated insults and oppressions, were with increasing difficult} 
restrained by the aristocracy from compromising the nation b) 
open rebellion; the influence of the priests and Pharisees succumbed 
to that of the Sicarii, Zealots, and Pseudo-prophets ;f and it be 
came daily more evident that a revolution was near, which, con- 
sidering the strength of the Romans, must end in the destruction 
of the nation.^ The fatal prelude was given [A. D. 66], when 
Florus, having been foiled in an attempt to seize the treasure in 
the temple, invited Cestius, president of Syria, to his assistance. 
Cestius came with a division of the Roman army, (8 Nov.) and 
was beaten. § The national spirit broke out in a general cry for 
war; but the more prudent saw that a heavy vengeance must soon 
follow. 

In these perilous times of their country, the peculiar doctrines 
of the Christians of Judea had a tendency to preserve them from 
danger. They believed that their Messiah was already come, and 
that he was soon to appear from heaven with deliverance for his 
saints ; they were secure, therefore, from the attempts of new pre- 
tenders. The habit of contemplating a kingdom to be revealed 
from heaven at God's appointed time, agreed with the spiritual 
tendency which had always characterized the Essenes, in drawing 
off the thoughts of the Christians from the politics of the moment 
to the more interesting and permanent world of the imagination. 
The things of the flesh, the contentions of parties and nations, 
might be despised in comparison with the things of the spirit, the 
anticipation of the glories which were destined to reward the patient 
faith of the elect. The Jewish Christians had become an almost 
isolated people in the midst of the Jews, and the office of the Mes- 
siah seems to have been among them, as well as among the Gentiles, 
raised into that of Judge of mankind.^" They therefore looked 
upon their fate as distinct from that of the rest of their nation, 



* Jos., War, ii. ch. xiv. to the end. 

f That the Pharisees continued to be strenuous conservatives, see War, 
ii. 17, 3. 

t Speech of Agrippa, War, ii, 16. 

§ War, ii. ch. xix. 

^f Matt. xxv. In the epistles of Peter, Jude, and James, there are no allu- 
sions to the kingdom of Israel, or throne of David, so often mentioned in 
the early speeches in the Acts. When the kingdom of Christ is spoken of, 
it is no longer peculiarly connected with the Jewish nation. 1 Peter v. 4 ; 
2 Peter iii. 13 ; James ii. 5. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 63 

and were probably among tbose who, according to Josephus, with- 
drew from Jerusalem after tbe defeat of Cestius, as from a devoted 
city.* Their place of retreat is supposed to have been at Pella, 
beyond the Jordan. 

At this time, probably, the opinion became most prevalent that 
the end of the world was near, j During the thirty-three years 
which had elapsed since the disappearance of the body of Jesus 
from the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, the Christians had 
believed that he would speedily re-appear ; and now the approach- 
ing dissolution of the Jewish state, and the abolition of the temple 
and laws which the Scriptures had declared perpetual, seemed not 
only to show that his re-appearance was at length nigh at hand, 
but that it would be accompanied by the end of all earthly things. | 
The storm burst upon the Jews in the beginning of the year A. D. 
67, when Vespasian entered Galilee with a large army. The 
vigorous defence made by the towns of that province detained him 
there till nearly the end of the year ; after which the death of 
Nero [A. D. 68, June 10,] induced him to suspend his operations, 
which, on his own accession, [A. D. 69, July 3,] were resumed by 
his son Titus. During this interval, Jerusalem had suffered such 
miseries from internal seditions, that the arrival of the Romans 
was expected by many as a relief. Zacharias, the son of Baruch, 
one of the most eminent citizens, was murdered in the temple, § 



* War, ii. xxi. " After this calamity had befallen Cestius, many of the 
most eminent of the Jews swam away from the city as from a ship when it 
was going to sink." The probability that the Christians were among these, 
is confirmed by the exhortations to flight found in the first three Gospels, 
and the testimony of Eusebius that some of the Christians went to Pella. 

f The punishment of the Jewish nation is frequently described in the Old 
Testament in terms which might be understood to signify the destruction 
of the whole earth. Deut. xxxii. 22. Jer. iv. 23 — 28. Isaiah xxiv. 4 — 23. 
Amos viii. 2, 9. 

J James v. 8, Be ye also patient ; establish your hearts ; for the coming of 
the Lord draweth nigh. 1. Peter i. 7, That the trial of your faith might be 
found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ ; 
i. 20, Christ was manifested in these last times for you ; iv. 7, But the end 
of all things is at hand ; iv. 17, For the time is come that judgment must 
begin at the house of God. 

Lardner conjectures the date of Peter's first Epistle to be 63, 64, or 65 ; 
of Jude's Epis. 64, 65, or 66 ; of James's Epis. 61. These dates fall within 
the time when the Jews began to anticipate the miseries to come. 

§ Jos., War, iv. ch. v. ; Matt, xxiii. 35. Lardner concludes that the Zacha- 
rias, son of Barachias, mentioned in Matthew, was Zacharias, the son of 
Jehoiada, killed in the court of the temple, 2 Chron. xxiv. ( Credib., part i. 



/ 

6-1 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

[A. D. 68,] and his death was the beginning of a series of daily 
riots and massacres. The profanation of the temple seemed 
especially to forebode the approaching ruin of the state; because 
the book of Daniel had described the pollution of the sanctuary as 
preparatory to the times of the end.* The siege of Jerusalem 



book ii. ch. vi.) But the following reasons lead me to think that Josephus 
and Matthew intended the same person : Firstly, The names given to the 
father, Baruch and Barachias, although distinct in the Greek, might easily 
be confounded. Secondly, Although Jerome said that the Nazarenes had, 
in their copy of Matthew, " the son of Jehoiada," Lardner allows that it was 
probably an insertion, and that the copies of Matthew generally from the 
earliest times, had " son of Barachias." Thirdly, The purport of the dis- 
course in Matthew is, that the Jews of that generation would suffer for all 
the righteous blood shed upon the earth ; and as he begins with Abel, he 
was not' likely to stop at the Zacharias in the Chronicles, B.C. 840, when 
there was abundance of righteous blood shed among the Jews after that 
date ; whereas the murder of the Zacharias mentioned by Josephus was 
probably, at the time when Matthew wrote, a recent and notorious event. 
Fourthly, It would not appear to the writer of the gospel inconsistent to 
make Jesus, thirty -three years beforehand, speak of this Zacharias, since he 
represents him as speaking of many other events connected with the fall of 
Jerusalem in the spirit of prophecy. Fifthly, The characters agree in Mat- 
thew and Josephus ; the former speaks of righteous blood, the latter says 
that Zacharias was one of the most eminent citizens, for his riches, his 
hatred of wickedness, and his love of liberty ; moreover " that he confuted 
in a few words the crimes laid to his charge, and turning his speech against 
his accusers, went over distinctly all their transgressions of the law, and 
made heavy lamentations upon the confusion they had brought public affairs 
to ;" which resembles very much the discourse in Matthew, containing the 
mention of Zacharias. Sixthly, Although Luke, in the parallel passage, si. 
47-51, appears to speak of Zacharias as being one of the prophets, this might 
arise from his being ignorant of the transaction which Matthew had in view ; 
for one of the many murders committed during the fall of Jerusalem might 
easily be unknown to a foreigner writing some years afterwards, and at a 
distance. But Zacharias, son of Barachias, one of the minor prophets, was 
well known to all the Christians. Luke therefore supposed that Matthew 
had this Zacharias in view, and consequently adapted his version of the 
discourse to this notion. Seventhly, Matthew did not really intend this 
last-named Zacharias, because no record appears to have existed among the 
Jews of the manner of his death, and in his time the temple was in ruins. 
Eighthly, Admitting the conjecture, that the original of Matthew mentions 
no father, but simply Zacharias, as in Luke, the insertion of sou of Barachias 
instead of Baruch, is explained by the transcribers generally, as well as 
Luke, having a better knowledge of the prophet than of any other Zacha- 
rias. 

* Dan. xi. 31 — 40. The book of Daniel refers to the events in the time of 
Antiochus Epiphanes (see chap, xiv.) ; but many of the Jews considered it 
as a prophecy of the future. Josephus says, ( War, iv. ch. 6,) 4i There was a 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 65 

was begun on the 14th of April, A. D. 70 ; it was defended with 
the most desperate bravery for nearly five months, and taken on 
the 8th September, after suffering the worst extremities which can 
befal a besieged city. The temple was burnt, the entire city 
demolished excepting three towers, and henceforward the Jews 
cease to appear as a political power in history. 

During the siege, the military sectarians who had instigated the 
revolt, exhibited a persevering gallantry which extorts our admi- 
ration in spite of their atrocious cruelties. Whatever of religion 
influenced them, was directed to the extinction of all the milder 
feelings, and to the inflaming of the sterner passions into madness.* 
The experienced legions of Rome under the eye of Titus himself, 
were repeatedly broken by the fierce attacks of the Jews ; the be- 
siegers, when retiring to rest after the incessant contests of the 
day, were surprised by nocturnal sallies ; their works were burnt, and 
the red-hot engines dragged away by the hands of the Jews, in 
despite of guards and fortifications ; and the short intervals of 
security obtained by the repulse of the Romans, were employed in 
the murder or torture of the citizens supposed to be favourable to 
a capitulation. The prophets were encouraged to announce from 
day to day the approach of divine aid ; and in the last extremity, 
when the temple was burning, and the streets were filled witb the 
infuriated Romans, a multitude assembled in the cloisters of the 
temple, and whilst the soldiers and the fire were closing upon them, 
confidently trusted that now the moment was come when God would 
appear to save his people. 

The fortress of Masada, occupied by a remnant of the Sicarii, 
under Eleazar the grandson of Judas, held out the longest against 
the Roman amis. When reduced to the last distress, the besieged 



certain antient oracle of those men (the prophets) that the city should then 
be taken, and the sanctuary burnt by right of war, when a sedition should 
invade the Jews, and their own hand should pollute the temple of God." 
The passages most resembling this are, Daniel ix. 26, xi. 31 — io ; but Jose- 
pbus has quoted them incorrectly, and added to them from his own invention, 
as he frequently does when quoting the Old Testament from memory. See 
his account of Pharaoh Necho's seizure of " Queen Sarah, whom Abraham 
preferred to recover by means of prayer to God, instead of employing his 318 
captains with an immense army under each." — War, Book v. ch. ix. 

* Unless the internal dissensions and factions had assisted the Eomans, 
it appears not incredible that the Jews might have compelled their invaders 
to admit an honourable compromise, and furnished an instance of the suc- 
cessful resistance of a less civilized but valiant nation, against superior 
strength and discipline. 

F 



66 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

slew their families, and then themselves, having first set fire to the 
place. The speech which Josephus attributes to Eleazar,* rejecting 
in this melancholy extremity all thoughts of submission to any 
Lords but God alone, breathes unimpaired the fierce independence 
of his ancestor, and is not unworthy of being considered as the 
funeral oration of an ancient people. Some of the Sicarii escaped 
from Judea into Egypt, whence they endeavoured to revive from 
time to time the energies of the remaining Jews, and to render 
their country an uneasy acquisition to the conquerors. 

The priest and Pharisee, Josephus, who had endeavoured to 
prevent the war, but when it was once begun, had performed his 
part in the common defence with eminent valour and skill until he 
was taken prisoner, was received into favour by Vespasian, and 
lived to write the history which records so amply the fate of his 
nation, and throws so much light upon the important moral move- 
ment which arose out of its latter period. His religion comprised 
at least as much of philosophy and worldly tact as of superstition ; 
and adopting the safe method of interpreting prophecies by the 
event, he complimented Vespasian as being the Messiah whom his 
country's prophets had announced. f The remainder of the Jewish 
people, however, could not be turned aside, even by the sight of 
their desolated towns, from the more patriotic interpretation of 
their sacred writings. After about sixty years, the brilliant but 
brief success of Barcochebas seemed for a moment to prove the 
correctness of this interpretation. From the time of his failure, 
the hope of the future appearance of David's successor and of the 
re-assembling of the tribes of Jacob, has lingered amongst the 



* War, vii. 8, 6. 

f War, vi. 5, 4, " But now, what did most elevate them in undertaking 
this war, was an ambiguous oracle that was also found in their sacred 
writings, how, 'about this time, one from their country should become 
governor of the habitable earth.' The Jews took this prediction to belong 
to themselves in particular ; and many of the wise men were thereby de- 
ceived in their determination. Now this oracle certainly denoted the 
government of Vespasian, who was appointed emperor in Judea." The de- 
ception of some " wise men " also, indicates strongly that Josephus alludes 
to the current Jewish notion of a Messiah, because this was a favourite 
topic with the Rabbins. He perhaps avoided using the Jewish designation 
Messiah, or its Greek form Christ, because he judged his own interpretation 
of it to be more suitable and intelligible to his Roman readers than the 
name itself ; also possibly, because at the time of his wilting the books of 
the War, (probably about A.D. 75), the name was beginning to be consi- 
dered as distinctive of a recent Jewish sect. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 67 

persecuted nation; — a hope so continually enlivened by their his- 
tory, poetry, and most interesting associations, that when the 
desires of the children of Israel shall at length be seconded by a 
train of concurring circumstances, it is perhaps not unreasonable 
to conjecture that it may yet in some measure be fulfilled. 

The sect which, whilst Judea was being conquered by Rome, 
was preparing Judaism to conquer the Roman Gods, also allowed 
events to modify materially its interpretation of the prophecies. 
The ruin of the Jewish state fixed more permanently the character 
of the Messiah to that of a Spiritual King. If, as such, he 
appeared to rigid critics in many respects to differ essentially from 
those prefigurations, the church was soon able to point at least to 
one very important resemblance, that of a triumphant ruler. 

Most of the leading Jewish Christians emigrated to foreign 
countries, and became incorporated with the Gentile churches. 
But those who still adhered to the law of Moses clung to their 
native land. When the war was over, they are supposed to have 
returned from Pella to Jerusalem, and to have maintained a church 
there till the time of Adrian, who, after the revolt of Barcochebas, 
prohibited the Jews from coming to Jerusalem.* From that time 
the church at Jerusalem consisted of Gentiles. From the notices 
which remain of the society of the Jewish Christians, under the 
names of Nazarenes and Ebionites, it seems to have fallen into 
great disrepute with the rest of the Christians. Their persevering 
Judaism, and aversion to Paul, prevented the Gentile churches 



* Euseb. on the Heresy of the Ebionites, 1. 3, cap, 27, " Some who are 
not to be moved by any means from their respect for the Christ of God, are 
in some respects very infirm. They are called by the ancients Ebionites, 
because they have but a low opinion of Christ, thinking him to be a mere 
man, born of Joseph and Mary, honoured for his advancement in virtue ; 
and esteeming the ritual ordinances of the law necessaiy to be observed by 
them, as if they could not be justified by faith in Christ only. Others of 
them do not deny that Jesus was born of a virgin by the Holy Ghost. 
Nevertheless, they do not acknowledge his pre-existence as God the Word ; 
and, like the others, they are fond of the external observances of the law of 
Moses. They also reject Paul's epistles, and call him an apostate from the 
law." Jerome speaks of the Nazarenes in his time, A.D. 400, as admitting 
the authority of Paul. The preponderating influence of the Gentile 
churches, no doubt, gradually procured admission amongst the Nazarenes 
for the canon of scriptures as fixed by the former. According to Jerome, 
some of the Ebionites or Nazarenes followed the liberal example of Peter 
and James, and observed the Mosaic rites themselves without seeking to 
impose them on others ; (Hieron. in Is. cap. i. t. 3. ;) but the intolerance of 
the rest might easily alienate the Gentiles from their whole body. 



68 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

from amalgamating with them, or from showing them that respect 
and attachment which would otherwise have seemed due to the 
relics of the parent society. And as the Gentile churches became 
the most influential part of the Christian body, and supplied the 
chief Christian writers, they were able to procure general reception 
to their own representation of the point of difference ; and conse- 
quently the remnant of the early converts, the countrymen and 
possibly some of the hearers, of Jesus himself, have come to be 
classed in church history amongst the early heretics. 

About the time of the fall of Jerusalem, [A. D. 68 — 70,] the 
history of Christ, bearing the name of Matthew, was published 
amongst the Christians of Judea. It contained most of the accounts 
which had been preserved of the acts and discourses of Christ, 
mingled with traditions of a later growth, and with passages 
representing the ideas then prevalent in the Jewish church. It 
was well received by the Christians, and in a few years was fol- 
lowed by many imitations, of which there only remain those of 
Mark and Luke ; the former written for the use of the church at 
Eome, and the latter for those of Achaia. Both these writers 
seem to have made use of Matthew's work, altering some parts in 
order to adapt it the better for the use of Gentile churches, and 
adding such narratives as they had been able to procure from other 
sources. 

These three histories bear the impress of the events and opinions 
of the age in which they were written.* They contain copious 
references to the fall of Jerusalem, and to the persecutions which 
the church began to undergo amongst the Gentiles about that 
time.f The coming of Jesus is represented as near at hand, and 
as cotemporary with the end of all things. He is described occa- 
sionally as the Judge of mankind, in addition to his original 
character of King of Israel and Successor of David. And the 
kingdom of heaven is a confused mixture of regenerated Israel 
and of a kingdom not of this world. 

The distance of thirty-seven years from the death of Christ, and 
of seventy from his birth, allowed of the introduction of many 
fables concerning his person and character ; and about this time 
arose the doctrine of the miraculous conception. The Gospel of 
Matthew is the earliest Christian writing in which this doctrine is 
found ; but it appears that, on its first publication, that book was 



See chap. iii. iv. and v. f Nero's persecution began A,D. 64. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 69 

not of sufficient authority to procure general reception to the whole 
of its contents ; and as the story was more consonant with Gentile 
than with Jewish taste,* a great part of the Jewish church refused 
to admit it.f Mark, who followed Matthew, passed the story over 
without notice. But Luke having inserted it with some variations 
in his Gospel, which, from its superiority of style and greater com- 
pleteness, grew probably into the most extensive use amongst the 
Gentile churches, the latter came gradually to receive the doctrine 
of the miraculous conception as implicitly as those of the resur- 
rection and ascension. 

Reformed Judaism, or Christianity, as it began to be more gene- 
rally called after the first Jewish church had died away, had made 
much progress amongst the Gentiles in the lifetime of Paul, 
[A.D. 37 — 64,] owing to the excellence of the Jewish system of 
monotheism, which carried with it the doctrines attached to it by 
its preachers, of the Messiahship and resurrection of Jesus. But 
as these latter do not rest, like the former, on natural reason, there 
was more difficulty at first in procuring them a free reception. 
The chief argument of the Apostles in support of the claims of 
Jesus, the fulfilment of prophecy, might be urged with effect upon 
the Jews, and the Gentiles acquainted with the Jewish scriptures ; 
but to the great proportion of the Greeks and Bomans, who had 
never studied the law and the prophets, the Messiahship and 
resurrection of Jesus would appear strange and unfounded stories. | 



* The introduction of Alexandrian Jews into the church warrants the 
conjecture that the story of the miraculous birth of Christ originated in the 
desire of some of the converts to render to their master the same honours 
as had been paid to Plato, of whom a similar stoiy had been told. " Speu- 
sippus quoque sororis Platonis Alius, et Clearchus in laude Platonis, et 
Anaxilides in secundo libro philosophise, Perictionem matrem Platonis 
phantasmate Apollinis oppressam ferunt, et sapientiae principem non aliter 
arbitrantur nisi de partu vixginis editum." — Hieron. Adv. Jocln. lib. 1. 

f Eusebius on Heresy of Ebionites. 

j Ivenceus cont. Hcer. 1. 4, cap. xxiv. " Quapropter plus laborabat, qui 
in gentes apostolatum acceperat, quam qui in circumcisione prseconabant 
Filium Dei. TJlos enim adjuvabant Scriptural, quas confirmavit Dominus 
et adimplevit, talis veniens qualis, et praadicabatur : hie vero peregrina 
quaedam eruditio et nova doctrina, Deos gentium non solum non esse 
Deos, sed et idola esse daemoniorum, esse unum Deum qui est super omnem 
principatum ; et hujus verbum naturaliter quidem invisibilem, palpabilem 
et visibilem in hominibus factum, et usque ad mortem descendisse, mortem 
crucis : et eos qui in eum credunt, incorruptibiles et impassibiles futuros et 
percipere regnum coelorum. Et haec Sermone praadicabantur Gentibus 
sine scripturis ; quapropter plus laborabant qui in Gentibus prasdicabant. 



70 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

In the interval, however, between the fall of Jerusalem and the 
close of the first century, Christianity formed gradually an alliance 
which materially assisted the spread of its doctrines amongst the 
Greeks and Romans. 

This alliance was with the Platonism of the Alexandrian school. 
The name of Plato was held in high veneration by the Greeks ; and 
the Jews of Alexandria, being constantly mingled with the Greeks, 
affected to partake of the fashionable admiration for the Platonic 
doctrines, which, they pretended to discover, were derived from 
Moses. Many of the Alexandrian Jews were Essenes, and became 
adherents of John the Baptist, and of Jesus. Hereby a channel 
was opened by which Platonism and Christianity might flow into 
each other. 

The Alexandrian Jews chiefly pursued trade, and consequently 
journeyed often to all parts of the Roman empire. Ephesus, 
another important commercial city, was doubtless a place of con- 
tinual resort to them ; and from the visit of Apollos to the end of 
the century, [A.D. 56 — 97,] we may reasonably infer that the 
Christian church planted by Paul at Ephesus received continually 
fresh infusions of the notions of the Alexandrian Jewish school.* 
The result was a new doctrine concerning the person of Jesus, to 
which prominence was given by the publication of another Gospel, 
by authority of the church of Ephesus, under the name of John 
[about A. D. 97]. 

Plato had taughtf that the Supreme Being, whom he called The 
Good (to ayaQov), made his only begotten offspring, the world,J 
by means of his own divine wisdom or intelligence, which he called 
logos or nous, a principle bearing the same relation to God as the 
human understanding § does to a man. And he sometimes spoke 
of this logos in terms which might be interpreted to signify some- 



Generosior autem rursus fides Gentium ostenditur, Sermonem Dei asse- 
quentium sine instructione literarum." 

* From 1 Tim. i. 3 — 7, it seems not improbable that Paul's cautions to 
the first bishop of Ephesus were directed partly against Platonic innovators. 

f Priestley's History of Early Opinions, book i. chap. vi. — Enfield's 
History of Philosophy, book ii. chap. viii. 

% " So that we may justly say, that the woiid is, through the providence 

of God, a living creature — that it has a soul and reason That this 

living creature might be like the most perfect living creature, he did not 
make two or more of them, but this one only begotten heaven " (juovoytvqj 
ovpavos). — Timams of Pinto, p. 477. 

§ " They who think rightly are said to think with logos ; and there can 
be no right opinion without knowledge." — Thccetctus of Plato, p. 94. 



JESUS TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 71 

thing distinct from the divine mind itself,* although, perhaps, he 
only intended to use a mysterious and sublime manner of personi- 
fying a mere property. Most of his followers preferred the more 
unintelligible interpretation, and carried the personification so far 
as to make the logos or nous a distinct being, proceeding from its 
origin The Good, as a son from his father, which figure had been 
used by Plato himself for a different purpose, viz. to describe the 
production of the world by God. The Jews conversant with Greek 
literature generally considered the term logos as synonymous with 
the Chaldee mimra, the word of Jehovah, which was merely a 
poetical paraphrase for Jehovah himself. But the Platonic Jews 
adopted the heathen notion of personifying the logos,~\ and even 
made the personification more perfect by representing the logos as 
a divine emanation, the visible image of the invisible God, and the 
medium by which he made the world, and communicated with 
Abraham, Moses, and the prophets. 

To this the writer of the Gospel of St. John added, that the 
logos which had been from the beginning with God, or in the 
bosom of the Father, had at last become flesh, and dwelt amongst 
men in the visible form of Jesus Christ.| The doctrine grew into 

* " As light and vision resemble the sun, but are not the sun, 60 know- 
ledge and truth resemble the good, but are not the good, the good itself 
being something more venerable." — Be Rep. lib. vi. p. 433. 

j See Wisdom of Solomon, vii. 22—30. 

J By comparing the words of Philo, the Jew, with those of St. John, it 
will be seen how natural the transition was. 

Philo. — " To speak plainly, the ideal world is no other than the logos of 
God, who makes the world." — Be Mundi Opificio, p. 5. 

"The logos is the image of God, by which all the world was made." 
Aoyo? Se e^iv ukwv Qtov SI ov ovfnra; 6 Koafiog tSqfuovpyeiTO, — Be Monarchia, 
p823. 

" Though no person is worthy to be called the Son of God, endeavour to 
be accomplished, like his first begotten logos, the most ancient angel, as 
being the archangel of many names : for it is called the apxn (beginning,) 
the name of God, and the logos, and the man according to his image, and 
the seer of Israel. For if we are not worthy to be called the sons of God, 
let us be so of his eternal image, the most holy logos ; for this most ancient 
logos is the image of God." — Be Confusione Linguarum, p. 341. In another 
place he describes the logos as a first-begotten son (irpioToyovov vlov), super- 
intending nature as an officer under God, and Likewise as the angel that God 
told Moses he would send before him. Be Agric. p. 195. 

" The true God is one, but those who are figuratively so called are many ; 
wherefore the sacred word on this occasion (the appearance to Abraham) 
distinguishes the true God by the article, I am 6 0eo? ; but him that is so 
called figuratively, without the article. Be Somniis, p. 599. 

He also represents the world as the younger son of God, but the logos 



72 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF 

favour with both parties, the Christians and the Platonists. The 
former saw in it a new mode of exalting the Messiah ;* and the 
latter new interest to their philosophy, by connecting it so closely 
with the most active sect of the venerable religion of Judaism, the 
professors of which formed already an influential part of their own 
school. f The junction with Platonism gave to Christianity a new 
and imposing title to consideration with the Gentiles. The claims 
of Jesus were no longer those of an obscure Jew, interesting 
chiefly to his own nation, and proveable only by reference to 
Jewish writings. They appeared to rest also on the authority of 



as his elder son, remaining with the father. Hap' eavry KarafiEveiv 8isvot]6t) . 
Immutability of God. 

St. John. — In the beginning was the logos, and the logos was with God 
(tov 9eov) and the logos was God (9eos). The same was in the beginning 
with God (tov Qiov). All things were made by him (or it) ; and without 
it was not anything made that was made. In it was life, and the life was 
the light of men .... That was the true light which lighteth every man 
that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was 

made by him, and the world knew him not and the logos became flesh, 

and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only be- 
gotten of the Father), full of grace and truth, i. 1—14. 

* The first chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews contains a doctrine 
so closely resembling that of John's Gospel, — that Jesus was the logos or 
image of God, — that the two writings would seem to proceed from nearly 
the same age. There is no satisfactory evidence of the date or authorship 
of the epistle, which appears to be first quoted by Clement of Eome, A.D. 
96, who has several passages nearly in the words of Heb. i. 3 — 13. The 
appbcation of some of the attributes of the Platonic logos to Christ, be- 
gins to appear as early as in the writings of Paul (Col. i. 12 — 18), for he 
calls him the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature : 
but the incarnation of the logos itself first appears clearly in the Gospel 
of John. The minds of most of the Jews were more or less imbued with 
the notions of the Alexandrian school, especially the Essenes, of whom 
the contemplative portion, or TherapeutEe, resided chiefly in Egypt. 

f The spiteful manner of Tacitus in mentioning the Jews, (gens teter- 
rima, despectissima,) and his ready adoption of calumnies upon them, 
(Annals, book ii. chap 3, 4, 5,) even such an absurd one as the placing of 
an ass in the holy of holies, should rather lead us to think that he had 
some peculiar motive for enmity towards them, than that he fairly repre- 
sents the opinion of the heathens in general towards the Jews. Josephus 
shows (Antiq. xiv. chap, x.) the estimation in which the Jews were held 
by the Romans as well as the Greeks before the last Jewish war. Their 
pertinacious resistance during that war, and the continual trouble which 
they afterwards gave to the Romans, in order to keep them in subjection, 
may perhaps account for the bitterness of Tacitus. The Christians, as a 
Jewish sect, obtained a share of his invectives ; " per flagitia invisos .... 
Sontes, et novissima exempla meritos." 



JESUS TO THE END OP THE FIRST CENTURY. 73 

one of the most venerated of the Grecian sages, and might be 
supported by the writings of an extensive and fashionable philo- 
sophic school. To the Jews he had seemed to fulfil the law and 
the prophets ; and now to the Greeks he appeared to complete 
the scheme of Plato. 

Platonism was that system of heathen philosophy which had 
most points of agreement with the Judaism of the Pharisaic and 
Essene schools. It taught the doctrines of one supreme and invi- 
sible Deity, his perfect goodness, and the immortality of man. 
But these doctrines being in the form of abstract and hardly intel- 
ligible speculations, were, with the Platonists, confined to the 
philosophic schools. The followers of John the Baptist, and of 
Jesus, connected them with the interests and transactions of life, 
and with expectations of momentous political importance. Pla- 
tonism still continued to offer attractive speculations to the learned 
and inquisitive ; but it was reserved for its more robust and en- 
ergetic ally, the Judaism of Nazareth, to give to its important 
truths an influence in the business of the world, to open for them 
an entrance into the affections, and to obtain for them an empire 
over the will, of the multitudes. 

Thus have we followed the Essene Judaism, from the infusion 
into it of Galilean notions, from its connexion with the doctrine 
of the Jewish Messiah, its amplification by the adherence and 
protection of the Pharisees, its extension into the Gentile world, 
by the relaxation of the Mosaic code, to its junction with the Pla- 
tonism of the Greeks ; and such was Christianity left at the close 
of the first century, or about the date of the termination of the 
writings of the New Testament. By this time, Jesus of Nazareth 
had advanced from the characters of the carpenter's son, the prophet 
of Galilee, the king of Israel, the Judge of mankind, to be the 
Logos, or incarnate representation of the Deity ; and shortly 
afterwards the gradation was completed by identifying him with 
God himself. 

By its doctrines concerning God and a future state ; by its 
social institutions for religious worship and the free communica- 
tion of charity ; by its connexion with the story of Jesus, and its 
claims to fulfil the prophecies concerning the Jewish Messiah ; 
by its asserted miracles ; and by its announcement of the end of 
the world, and of an approaching Kingdom of Heaven ; Christi- 
anity possessed too powerful means of influence over the intellect, 
the affections, and the imagination of men, to be successfully op- 
posed by the magistrate. The violent temporary persecutions 



74 HISTORICAL SKETCH, FROM THE DEATH OF JESUS, ETC. 

which their intolerance of the heathen deities, and their apparently 
seditions doctrine of the subversion of all existing political states, 
brought upon the early Christians, merely fanned instead of ex- 
tinguishing the flame of proselytism,* and gave to them as martyrs 
another title to the sympathies of the generous and humane part 
of mankind. Neither polytheism nor any of the philosophies pre- 
valent in the Roman empire possessed vitality enough to resist the 
powerful influences which thus rolled onward from Palestine ; and 
after three centuries of alternate persecution and repose, a politic 
emperor found it expedient to offer to the reforming sect an alli- 
ance with the state. 



* The attempt of Gibbon, in his 16th chapter, to conceal the sufferings of 
the early Christians is as contradictory to history as it is ungenerous. The 
persecution under Marcus Antoninus, which included the atrocious cruelties 
at Vienne and Lyons, is thus glossed over : " During the whole course of his 
reign, Marcus despised the Christians as a philosopher, and punished them 
as a sovereign." A parasite of the Emperor could not have written in a 
more courtly manner. But it must be allowed that there were between the 
persecutions long intervals, in which the Christians lived and practised their 
rites with tolerable security. 



CHAPTER III. 

ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL OP 
ST. MATTHEW. 

The four Gospels contain many things agreeing with the usual 
order of nature, and necessary to account for the growth of 
Christianity, such as the existence, public preaching, and death of 
Christ ; but they also contain many things unusual in the order of 
nature, and, as the preceding sketch has shown, not necessary to 
account for the growth of Christianity, such as Christ's miracles 
and resurrection. Admitting that a miracle may be proved by 
sufficient testimony, we are forced also to admit that testimony, in 
order to be sufficient in this case, must be considerably stronger 
than that upon which we should believe ordinary facts. Paley 
agrees that Hume states the case of miracles fairly, when he says 
that it is the question whether it be more improbable that the 
miracle should be true, or the testimony false. Evid. vol. i. p. 11. 

Paley, however, labours to prove that we ought to admit an 
antecedent probability in favour of a miraculous revelation, from 
our knowledge of the existence, disposition, and constant agency 
of the Deity. Others, with Rousseau, have argued that it is ante- 
cedently improbable that the Deity should choose to reveal himself 
by signs of such doubtful and difficult verification as miracles. 
Most of those who approach the evangelical histories are probably 
influenced by considerations of one or the other sort ; and on the 
antecedent bias it will depend whether the degree of credibility 
which can be established for the evangelists appear sufficient to 
attest even their miraculous narratives. Hence the different con- 
clusions arrived at by those who apply to the study of the Christian 
evidences. In either case there seems to be a departure from the 
strict inductive method, which should lead us to inquire, not what 
the Deity would or ought to have done, but what he actually has 
done. It seems beyond the power of the human intellect to decide, 
a priori, whether a miraculous revelation, or instruction through 



76 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

nature alone, be more suitable to tbe character of God ; but mere 
common sense, accompanied by industiy, patience, and candour, is 
able to form an opiuion as to tbe weight due to tbe historical 
evidence alleged in favour of the supposed miraculous revelation. 
Critical and historical research, therefore, appears to be the only- 
means of arriving at a sound conclusion. 

Let us, then, collect the best evidence we can as to the evan- 
gelists' veracity and knowledge of the things which they relate, in 
order to judge if it be so strong as to warrant a reasonable man 
in believing them when they relate miracles ; or, in other words, 
if, considering the circumstances in which they were placed, and 
what we can perceive of their views, motives, and characters, it be 
more improbable that the miracles should be true, or their testimony 
false. 

The first Gospel bears no author's name in itself, but has come 
down to us from the earliest ages of the church under the title of 
" the Gospel according to St. Matthew." Neither does it bear in 
itself any date. We are obliged, then, to supply these omissions 
by inferences from the contents of the book itself, and by external 
evidence. 

I. The contents of the book show that it was published during 
or immediately after the Jewish war, A. D. 66 to 70 ; for the 24th 
chapter, written in the prophetic style, mentions things which 
agree with real events up to that time, but disagree with them 
afterwards. This is shown by the following examination of the 
chapter as compared with the histories of Josephus and others ; 
besides which there are some internal indications that it was not a 
prediction really delivered by Jesus, but the writer's own descrip- 
tion of his times. 

Matt. xxiv. 1. And Jesus went out, and departed from the 
temple ; and the disciples came to shoiv him the buildings of the 
temple. 2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? 
Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left one stone upon another 
that shall not be thrown down. 

This prediction is not referred to in the speeches of the Apostles 
in the Acts,* nor in any of the epistles, although those of Paul 
dwell frequently upon the state and prospects of the Jewish 
nation. 

* Stephen was accused of having said that "Jesus of Nazareth shall 
destroy this place, and change the customs which Moses delivered." Acts 
vi. 14. But it does not appeal' that he referred to any prediction of Jesus 

himself. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 77 

3. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came 
unto him privately, saying, Tell us when shall these things be? 
and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the 
world ? 

Since the writer says the prediction was delivered privately, the 
general testimony of the church must have been wanting to sup- 
port it. He does not say from which of the disciples he himself 
obtained his information. Mark says, the disciples to whom it 
was delivered were Peter, James, John, and Andrew ; but we can- 
not find that any of these mentioned it themselves, although 
epistles are remaining from three of them, of which one was 
written shortly before the events referred to.* The coming of 
Jesus, and the end of the world, were generally expected by the 
Christians about the time of the siege of Jerusalem ; but in the 
lifetime of Jesus the first phrase would have little meaning, for 
Jesus was already with them; and the disciples then expected, not 
the end of the world, but the restoration of the throne of Israel. f 



* 1 Peter, about A. D. 64. 

f The disciples probably expected that the redemption of Israel by the 
Messiah would be accompanied by the destruction of those who refused to 
repent, and to receive him (Matt. iii. 7, 12 ; vii. 13). They might partake 
of the common Jewish notion that the Messiah's kingdom was the begin- 
ning of a new world or order of things (Matt. xii. 32) ; perhaps also, that 
it was to be attained through much peril and distress of Israel (Dan. xii. 1). 
But they had not had sufficient ground given them to consider that the 
Messiah's kingdom was to be introduced by a second coining of Jesus, coinci- 
dent with the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the world. Their intuitive 
connexion of all these things together in this scene betokens not only a very 
ready apprehension of what Jesus is reported to have already said, but some 
perception of what he was about to say. Matt. xiii. 39, 40, if historical, 
could at most only lead the hearers to expect an end of the world, in which 
the Son of Man would reward the righteous and punish the wicked, without 
connecting this end with a second coming of Jesus, and the fall of Jerusa- 
lem. The reader of Matthew, on coming to this verse, is taken by surprise 
at rinding the simultaneousness or connexion of these three things treated 
as a matter of course by the disciples. The subsequent conduct and lan- 
guage of some of them betoken that there still remained among them the 
expectation that the Jesus who was already with them, would, during his 
actual stay on the earth, redeem Israel. 

But the matter becomes clear by referring to the ideas of a later period. 
After the death of Jesus, the Christians believed that he would come again 
from heaven, which second coming might be called emphatically the coming 
of the Son of Man, of the Lord, or of Jesus. James v. 7 ; 1 Peter i. 7, 13 ; 
iv. 13 ; v. 1 ; 2 Peter iii. 12. Josephus shows that the destruction of the city 
was anticipated some time before it occurred, and that prognostics of it were 
found in the prophets. Passages in these apparently connected the punish- 



78 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no 
man deceive you. 5. For many shall come in my name, saying, I 
am Christ, and shall deceive many. 

Jos. War, book ii. ch. 13, " There was also another body of 
wicked men gotten together, who laid waste the happy state of the 
city no less than did these murderers. These were such men as 
deceived and deluded the people under pretence of divine inspira- 
tion, but were for procuring innovations and changes of the govern- 
ment; and these prevailed with the multitude to act like madmen, 
and went before them into the wilderness, as pretending that God 
would there show them the signals of liberty." This was in the 
procuratorship of Felix, A.D. 55. Ibid. "Now when these (the 
Egyptian false prophet and his company) were quieted, it happened, 
as it does in a diseased body, that another part was subject to an in- 
flammation ; for a company of deceivers and robbers got together, 
and persuaded the Jews to revolt, and exhorted them to assert their 
liberty, inflicting death on those that continued in obedience to the 
Roman government, and saying, that such as willingly chose 
slavery ought to be forced from such their desired inclinations ; for 
they parted themselves into different bodies, and lay in wait up and 
down the country, and plundered the houses of the great men, and 
slew the men themselves, and set the villages on fire ; and this till all 



ment of Jerusalem with the end of all things. (See page 63.) Therefore 
by the time the first gospel was written, the Christians had become familiar 
with the idea of connexion between the coming of the Son of Man, the fall 
of Jerusalem, and the end of the world ; although they could not see the 
precise order of date of the three events. The writer therefore puts into 
the mouth of the disciples the question most interesting to the Christians 
in his own time — ''When shall these things be, and what shall be the sign 
of thy coming ? " &c. 

These observations apply also in great part to Matt. x. 22, 23 ; xvi. 28. 
It seems improbable that the coming of the Son of Man, which appears to 
have been very commonly used by Jesus to signify his actual appearance, 
could have been mentioned at the periods referred to as a familiar idea in 
the sense of a second supernatural coming at a distant period, and apparently 
without exciting any demand for explanation. Matt. xxvi. 64, occurring 
shortly before the execution of Jesus, is possibly in substance a real saying, 
being the application of Dan. vii. 13, in a literal sense, when it had not been 
accomplished in any other ; which saying may have contributed to the sub- 
sequent expectation of the church, and to its condensation into the phrase, 
the " coming of the Son of Man." This might easily be reflected into the 
account of the previous discourses. A few isolated passages of this kind 
appear therefore rather to partake of the character which internal evidence 
and the context affix to ch. xxiv. 3, than to afford a sufficient basis on which 
to establish the authenticity of the latter. 



THE GOSPEL OP ST. MATTHEW. 79 

Judea was filled with the effects of their madness. And thns the 
flame was every day more and more blown up, till it came to a 
direct war." 

6. And ye shall hear of wars, and rumours of wars : see that ye he 
not troubled : for all these things must come to pass, but the end is 
not yet. 

Jos., War, ii. ch. 16, " However, Floras contrived another way 
to oblige the Jews to begin the war, and sent to Cestius, and 
accused the Jews falsely of revolting." Then followed many 
massacres and tumults in different parts of Judea, in Syria, and at 
Alexandria ; but the people were restrained by Agrippa from an 
open war. Chap. 17, " And thus did Agrippa then put a stop to 
the war which was threatened." After this, Cestius marched to 
Jerusalem, 30th Oct. A. D. 66, and was beaten; which was the 
beginning of the war : but Jerusalem itself was not besieged till 
three years and a half afterwards. 

7. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against 
kingdom: and there shall he famines and pestilences and earthquakes 
in divers places. 8. All these are the beginning of sorrows. 

Jos., War, iv. ch. 8, " In the meantime (about March A. D. 
68) an account came that there were commotions in Galatia, and 
that Vindex, with the men of power in that country, had revolted 
from Nero. This report excited Vespasian to go on briskly with 
the war ; for he foresaw already the civil wars which were coming 
upon them, nay, that the very government was in danger ; and he 
thought, if he could first reduce the eastern parts of the empire to 
peace, he should make the fears for Italy the lighter." 

Tacitus, Ann. xvi. cap. 13, " This year (A. D. 65 or 67), so 
disgraced by crimes, was also marked by the gods with tempests 
and pestilences. Campania was ravaged by a hurricane, which 
destroyed villas, woods, and harvests ; and extended its violence 
as far as the city, in which the pestilence was thinning all living 
creatures, &c." According to Eusebius, three cities, Laodicea, 
Hierapolis, and Colosse, suffered much from an earthquake in the 
reign of Nero ; and Lardner has collected several accounts of 
earthquakes in the same reign. Jewish Test. chap. iii. 

Jos., War, iv. ch. 9, " Now, as Vespasian was getting ready 
to march to Jerusalem, he was informed that Nero was dead 
[A. D. 68, 10th June]. But how he abused his power, how also 
the war in Galatia was ended ; and how Galba was made emperor, 
and returned out of Spain to Eome, and how he was slain by 
treachery, and Otho made emperor, with his expedition against the 



80 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF THE 

commanders of Vitellius, and his destruction thereupon ; and 
besides what troubles there were under Vitellius ; I have omitted 
to give an account of them, because they are well known by all." 

Ch. 10, " Now about this very time (third year of the war) it 
was that heavy calamities came upon Rome on all sides." 

Book v. ch. 1. In describing the three factions which raged at 
Jerusalem, and the burning of the corn laid up for the siege, 
Josephus breaks into this exclamation : " and now, most 
wretched city, what misery so great as this didst thou suffer from 
the Eomans, when they came to purify thee from thy intestine 
hatred ! For thou couldst be no longer a place fit for God, nor 
couldst thou longer continue in being, after thou hadst been a 
sepulchre for the bodies of thine own people, and hadst made the 
holy house itself a burying-place in this civil war of thine !" 

Ibid., " And now as the city was engaged in a war on all sides, 
from these treacherous crowds of wicked men, the people of the city, 
between them, were like a great body torn in pieces. The aged 
men and the women were in such distress by their internal calami- 
ties, that they wished for the Romans, and earnestly hoped for an 
external war, in order to deliver them from their domestic miseries. 
Nor could such as had a mind flee away, for the robbers, although 
contending with one another in other respects, agreed in killing 
those who were for peace with the Romans, or showed an inclina- 
tion to desert. Nor was any regard paid to those that were still 
alive, by their relations ; nor was any care taken of burial for 
those that were dead : every one despaired of himself. But the 
seditious themselves fought against each other, whilst treading 
upon the dead bodies as they lay heaped together : and when they 
had resolved upon anything, they executed it without mercy, 
omitting no method of torment or barbarity." More minute de- 
tails of the cruelties of the seditious, and of the miseries of the 
famine, are given in chap. 10. 

9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill 
you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 

The first persecution of the Christians by the Roman govern- 
ment, that of Nero, began A.D. 64 or 65.* Tacitus calls them a 
people abhorred for their crimes. 



* Luke is more particular concerning the date of the persecutions, and 
says it was before the wars, earthquakes, &c, xxi. 12 ; which agrees ex- 
actly with Tacitus and Josephus. The order of events may be recapitulated 
thus : — 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 81 

10. And then shall many he offended, and shall betray one 
another, and shall hate one another. 11. And many false prophets 
shall arise, and shall deceive many. 

Jos., War, vi. ch. 5, " A false prophet was the occasion of 
these people's destruction, who had publicly proclaimed, that God 
commanded them to get up upon the temple, and that there they 
should receive miraculous signs of their deliverance. Now, there 
was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants 
to impose upon the people, who denounced this to them, that they 
should wait for deliverance from God ; and this was in order to 
keep them from deserting. Thus were the miserable people per- 
suaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God himself ; while 
they did not attend to the signs that were so evident, and did so 
plainly foretel their future desolation." The first incident occurred 
at the end of the siege ; but Josephus evidently passes on to a 
reflection on the state of things during and previous to it. 

12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall ivax 
cold. 

"War, v. ch. 11, " Neither did any city ever suffer such miseries, 
nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness 
than this was, from the beginning of the world." 

13. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 
14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached hi all the world 

for a toitness unto all nations ; and then shall the end come. 

The churches planted by Paul up to the year 62 had increased, 
and Christianity spread widely into the Eoman empire. 

15. When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation, 
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso 
readeth, let him understand). 

This seems to apply to the temporary entrance of Cestius's army 
into Jerusalem [30th Oct. A. D. 66] and his attack upon the 
temple. The writer adapts the latter part of Daniel, ch. ix., to 
the events of his time, and imitates towards his readers the address 



A.D. 61 or 65. Persecution under Nero began. There had been minor 

persecutions previously. 
A,D. 65 or 67. Tempests, pestilences, and famines. 

Earthquakes in the reign of Nero [A.D. 51 — 68], but 
not dated exactly. 
A.D. 6S. Civil wars in the empire. 
The irpo de tovtuv of Luke therefore corrects very accurately the tote 
of Matthew. 

G 



82 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

of the angel, who told Daniel that he was come to give him under- 
standing. The phrase seems merely to imply a covert meaning, 
which might be understood with attention. The slight ambiguity 
rendered the warning more solemn ; and besides, as the Christians 
at Pella did not wish to identify themselves with the revolted Jews, 
it would have been injudicious to say openly that the " abomination 
of desolation" meant the Romans.* 

In the time of Pilate, Judea was tolerably tranquil ; there was 
then no reason to apprehend an approaching ruin of Jerusalem. 
But after the defeat of Cestius, Josephus says that ruin was gene- 
rally apprehended, and that oracles of it were found in the prophets, 
alluding apparently to Daniel. War, iv. 6, 3. 

16. Then let them who are in Judea flee into the mountains. 17. 
Let him who is on the house-top not come down to take any thing out 
of his house. 18. Neither let him ivho is in the field return bach to 
take his clothes. 

"War, ii. 20, " After the defeat of Cestius, many of the most 
eminent of the Jews swam away from the city, as from a ship 
about to sink." Eusebius and Epiphanius say, that before the 
war began (which might mean before the entrance of Vespasian's 
army into Galilee) the Christians left Jerusalem and went to Pella. 

19. And ivoe unto them that are with child, and to them that give 
suck in those days. 20. But pray ye that your flight be not in winter, 
neither on the Sabbath. 21. For then shall be great tribulation, such 
as was not since the beginning of the ivorld until now, no, nor ever 
shall be. 22. And except those days should be shortened, there should 
no flesh be saved ; but for the elect's sake, those days shall be short- 
ened. 

The term " elect" is common in the epistles ; but in the time of 
Jesus, his followers seem to have been usually called the disciples, 
and, afterwards, the brethren. f 

23. Then, if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or 
there ; believe it not. 24. For there shall arise false Christs, and 
false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, 
that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25. Behold, 



* The couTtesy of Josephus towards the Komans doubtless led him to 
interpret the (3dt\vyfj,a this epqpioaews as the pollution of the temple by the 
seditious. War, iv. 6, 3. 

f Excepting in this chapter of Matthew, and the corresponding one in 
Mark, Cruden quotes only one instance of the use of the term in the Gospels, 
Luke xviii. 7. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 83 

I have told you before. 26. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, 
Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth ; behold, he is in the secret 
chambers, believe it not. 27. For as the lightning cometh out of the 
east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the 
Son of Man be. 28. For, ivheresoever the carcase is, there will the 
eagles be gathered together. 

So far the prophecy corresponds minntely with history. 

29. Immediately (tvOtwc) after the tribulation of those days shall 
the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the 
stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be 
shaken. 30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in 
heaven ; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they 
shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power 
and great glory. 31. And he shall send his angels with a great 
sound of the trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from 
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32. Noiv learn 
a parable of the fig-tree ; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth 
forth leaves, ye knoiv that summer is nigh. 33. So likewise ye, when 
ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 
34. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these 
things be fulfilled. 

These things did not happen.* The rest of the chapter, and the 
following one, go on to describe the coming of the Son of Man, 
but contain nothing corresponding with real events. 

Since, therefore, the writer was acquainted with real events till 
nearly the end of the Jewish war, but ignorant of them afterwards, 
it follows that he wrote between the years A. D. 66 and 70. The 
Christians who took refuge at Pella probably addressed many ex- 
hortations to their brethren to escape from the city, and to avoid 
following the impostors ; and in the loose state of Christ's history 
at that time, it was easy to amplify some traditionary sayings of 
his into directions for the crisis at hand. The author of Matthew, 
writing about that time, naturally introduced such a prominent 
topic of the day into his work ; and being, as is seen from other 
parts of it, less studious of historical accuracy than of rendering it 
interesting and impressive, gave to his description the favourite 
and poetical form of prophecy. The greater part is well adapted 



* The frequent allusions in the Epistles to the approaching end of all 
things confirm the first impression of the reader, that the writer intended 
the prediction to be understood in its literal and obvious sense. That it 
refers figuratively to the spread of the Gospel is a later explanation. 



84 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

to the period between the defeat of Cestius, A. D. 66, and the 
arrival of the Romans around the city, 14th April A. D. 70 ; for 
until then, escape, although opposed by the tyrants, was still pos- 
sible, and the miseries of the city were growing daily more intole- 
rable. The most probable date seems to be 68 or 69, because, with 
the exception of the allusion to the destruction of the temple, the 
writer does not show any acquaintance with the events accom- 
panying the final capture of the city, which he was most likely to 
do if he knew them, after dwelling so minutely on the previous 
occurrences ; as is seen in the account of Luke. The allusion to 
the temple was not unlikely to be made about the year 68, since 
Josephus says, that most anticipated the entire destruction of the 
city. Nevertheless, there appears to be no very weighty reason 
against placing the date as late as A. D. 70, cotemporary with or 
immediately after the capture of the city ; for although the ex- 
hortations to flight could then be of no practical use, the record of 
them helped to describe, in an impressive manner, the feelings of 
the Christians during the terrible crisis through which they had 
just passed. 

Zacharias, the son of Baruch, was murdered about the year 68. 
The arguments given in note§, p. 63, to prove that he was the 
same as the Zacharias, son of Barachias, alluded to Matt, xxiii. 35, 
tend to confirm the date of 68, or later, for this Gospel. 

Since these two chapters, xxiii. and xxiv., have always formed 
part of the Gospel of Matthew, the whole compilation must be 
dated about 68. 

II. Let us see what can be collected from external testimony 
concering the date. 

Barnabas, in an epistle written apparently soon after the fall of 
Jerusalem, A.D. 71 or 72, has this passage: "Let us therefore 
beware, lest it should happen to us as it is written, There are 
many called, few chosen." These words are in Matt. xx. 16, and 
xxii. 14. And there are many other passages in Barnabas, 
agreeing almost literally with some in Matthew, although they 
are not said to be quotations. 

Clement of Rome, A.D. 96, says, " For thus he (Jesus) said, 
Be ye merciful that ye may obtain mercy .... with what measure 
ye mete, with the same it shall be measured to you : " which 
agrees with Matt. vii. 2. 

A.D. 116. Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, is the first who 
mentions Matthew's work by name. His writings are lost, but 
Eusebius says that they contained the following : — " Matthew 



THE GOSPEL OP ST. MATTHEW. 85 

wrote the divine oracles in the Hebrew tongue, and every one 
interpreted them as he was able." MarOaioc fiev ow 'EppaiSi SloKektu) 

ra Xoyia ovvEypaipa.ro. K Hp/M]VEV(TE 8' avra wq TjSvvaTO EKaarog. Eusebius 

in one place calls Papias an " eloquent man, and skilful in the 
Scriptures ; " in another, " a man of no great capacity." 

A. D. 178. Irenaetis, bishop of Lyons, makes the first clear 
mention of all the four Gospels, and says of Matthew's, "Matthew, 
then among the Jews, wrote a Gospel in their own language, 
while Peter and Paul were preaching the Gospel at Eome, and 
founding (or establishing) a church there." The deaths of Peter 
and Paul are dated variously from A. D. 64 to 68.* According 
to Jerome and Bede, they happened in the last year of Nero, or 
A. D. 68. They had been preaching at Kome together for several 
years before. 

A. D. 230. Origen says that, according to the tradition re- 
ceived by him, the first gospel was written by Matthew, once a 
publican, afterwards a disciple of Jesus Christ ; who delivered it 
to the Jewish believers, composed in the Hebrew tongue. 

A. D. 368. Epiphanius. " Matthew wrote in Hebrew ; " and 
" Matthew wrote first, and Mark soon (svQvg) after him, being a 
follower of Peter at Eome." Now Mark wrote soon after Peter's 
death ; so that if we take the date of this according to Jerome, 
Matthew must have written about the year 68. 

A. D. 394. Theodore of Mopsuestia. " For a good while the 
Apostles preached chiefly to Jews in Judea. Afterwards Provi- 
dence made way for conducting them to remote countries. Peter 
went to Eome [A. D. 63 or 64], the rest elsewhere ; John in par- 
ticular took up his abode at Ephesus. About this time, the other 
evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, published their gospels, 
which were soon spread all over the world." 

A. D. 392. Jerome. " The first evangelist is Matthew, the 
publican, surnamed- Levi, who wrote his Gospel in Judea, in the 
Hebrew language, chiefly for the sake of the Jews that believed 
in Jesus." 

A. D. 398. Chrysostom. " Matthew is said to have written 
his Gospel at the request of the Jewish believers, who desired him 
to put down in writing what he had taught them by word of mouth ; 



* Lardner is in favour of the year 65 ; but the argiraients for so early a 
date appear to be of Little weight. (Hist, of Apostles, ch. xi.) Jerome says, 
without any appearance of doubt, that Peter was put to death in the last 
year of Nero. i. e. A.D. 68. De V. I. cap. i. 



86 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

and he is said to have written in Hebrew ;" and afterwards, " In 
what place each one of the evangelists wrote, cannot be said with 
certainty."* 

These are the earliest testimonies concerning Matthew's Gospel ; 
and they confirm the internal evidence of its having been written 
about A. D. 68, i. e. about 35 years after the events which it pro- 
fesses to record. During that interval, much of the true history of 
Christ was doubtless preserved ; but it seems also highly probable, 
that some misrepresentations and fictions should have been mingled 
with it. 

III. In order, then, to receive implicitly Matthew's statements, 
we must be satisfied as to his accuracy and veracity. 

The evidence of Matthew the Apostle's being the real author is 
not very strong ; because most of the writers quoted may have 
borrowed from Papias ; but if it were so, we know so little of that 
apostle,f ^ a ^ a wor k of his cannot be exempt from scrutiny. 

He (or the person bearing his name) quotes from the Old Tes- 
tament, as prophecies relating to Jesus, texts which, when ex- 
amined, are found to have nothing to do with Jesus. For instance, 
ch. ii. 15, " And he (Jesus) was there (in Egypt), that it might 
be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 
Out of Egypt have I called my son." The passage in Hosea is, 
" When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son 
out of Egypt," ch. xi. 1. Some he quotes incorrectly, as ch. ii. 6, 
compared with Micah v. 2.J One passage which he quotes as a 



* It was only after the time of Chrysostom that some writers began to 
attribute an earlier date to Matthew. (Lardner, Hist, of Apost. ch. v.) 
Lardner concludes that Matthew's Gospel was written not before 63 or 64. 
But he assumes that " the predictions must have been recorded before they 
were accomplished." Sect. 3. 

f In addition to the account in the New Testament, Lardner could find 
only a few uncertain traditions. Hist, of Apost. ch. v. 

Eusebius said (H. E. 3, 24.) that from Palestine Matthew turned e<f>' srtpovq 
to other people. Origen had no knowledge of the people to whom Matthew 
had preached ( (Euseb. H. E. 3, 1.), nor Jerome (Catal. Vir. 111. 3). 
Heracleon (about 150) quoted by Clement Alex, supposed that Matthew 
died a natural death. Later writers named various countries as the scene 
of his labours ; most of them ^Ethiopia. 

% Jerome says concerning this quotation, that Matthew agrees neither 
with the Septuagint nor the Hebi'ew text, either in words or sense. "Quanta 
sit inter Matthseum et Septuaginta, verborum ordinisque discordia, sic magis 
admiraberis, si Hebraicum videas — sensusque contrarius est, Septuaginta 
sibi hoc in loco et Hebraico concordante." Hieron de opt. gen. intcrp. t. 
iv. par. 2. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 87 

prophecy,* ii. 23, is not found in the Old Testament ; although 
there is one in Judges, xiii. 5, resembling it in sound only. See 
also ch. ii. 17, and iv. 14. 

The misquotation or misapplication of the prophecies might possi- 
bly be regarded merely as aproof of negligence or erroneous judgment, 
into which the writer of the first gospel was led by the fanciful and 
inaccurate method of interpretation so prevalent in the Jewish 
schools ; but the converse, viz. the perversion of facts, in order 
to fit them to the prophecies, indicates historical dishonesty. 

In Zechariah ix. 9, is this passage : " Rejoice greatly, daugh- 
ter of Zion ; shout, daughter of Jerusalem : behold thy king 
cometh unto thee ; he is just and having salvation, lowly, and riding 
upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." 

Matthew relates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem thus, xxi. 1 : 
" Then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the 
village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, 
and a colt with her : loose them, and bring them unto me. And 
if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need 
of them ; and straightway he will send them (avrovg). All this 
was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, 
saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold thy king cometh unto 
thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 
And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, and 
brought the ass and the colt, and put on them (sTravu avrwv) their 
clothes, and set him thereon," literally, " on them " (e7reica0i(Tav 

en-ava) avTu>v).\ 

Mark, Luke, and John, mention only one animal, the colt of an 
ass, although Mark appears to have copied the greater part of his 
account from Matthew.! This does no * show such a literal fulfil- 
ment of the prophecy, but is more probable in itself. The testi- 
mony, therefore, of the other three evangelists, and the probability 



* " This text (he shall be called a Nazarene) is entirely wanting in all 
our copies, Hebrew and Greek." — Whiston's Essay on O. T., p. 104. Lit, 
accomp. p. 4. 

f Augustine explained the matter by saying, he rode first one, and then 
the other. Campbell's translation is, " They made him ride." Improved 
Version, "And he sat thereon." Eosenmiiiler compares this passage to 
Jud. xii. 7, " Jephtha was buried in the cities of Gilead," i. e. one of them. 

J Matt. Kai ore rjyyi<rav sig 'IspotroXv/ia .... rjyayov tj]v ovov icat rov tojXov, 
Km STrsdr]Kav nravio avriov ra ijiana avruiv, icai nrtKaQiaav tnavii) avrwv. 

Mark xi. 1, 7. Kai on tyyiZovaiv ug 'Itpovoakrm . ... km tjyayov rov Trutkov 



00 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

of the thing itself, lead ns to conclude, that Matthew has falsified 
in his account, in order to make it appear that the prophecy, ac- 
cording to his version of it, was exactly fulfilled. 

In Psalm lxix. 21, we find, " They gave me also gall for my 
meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar' to drink." Matthew 
says that, previously to the crucifixion, they gave Jesus " vinegar 
to drink mingled with gall" (o£og fitra xoyvQ i^inynsvov) xxvii. 34. 
But Mark calls the drink " ivine mingled with myrrh" zajxvpvianivov 
oivov. John says nothing of this first offering of drink, but agrees 
with Matthew and Mark in mentioning another, of the sponge 
filled with vinegar immediately before the death of Jesus. Luke 
says only in a vague manner, " and the soldiers also mocked him, 
coming to him and offering him vinegar," xxiii. 36 ; which may 
refer to the second offering. Matthew therefore disagrees with 
Mark, and is not confirmed by the others, as to the precise kind of 
drink offered before the crucifixion ; but he makes his account 
correspond exactly with the Psalm.* 

Matthew says that Judas received thirty pieces of silver for be- 
traying Jesus, and afterwards brought them again to the priest, 
who bought ivith them the potter's field. " Then was fulfilled that 
which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet,f saying, And they took the 
thirty pieces of silver ; the price of him that was valued, whom they of 
the children of Israel did value, and gave them for the potter's field, 
as the Lord appointed me." Mark, Luke, and John, merely state 
that Judas received money, without mentioning thirty pieces ; and 
say nothing about a potter's field. But Luke in the Acts, says, 
Judas himself bought a field. Matthew, then, differs materially 
from the others, the differences being such as make his account 
agree well with what he quotes as a prophecy. 

Since Matthew appears anxious throughout his work to exhibit 
the fulfilment of prophecy by Jesus, it seems very clear that his 
zeal led him, in these instances, to tamper with the facts. Other 

Tvpog tov Irjffovv, Kai £7T£/3«\oi/ avr<f) Ta ijiuTiu civtiov Kai eKaOiaev ETT aVTif). 

* This subject is considered more minutely in chap, xii., note on John 
xix. 28. 

f In our copies the passage is in Zechariah xi. 12, 13, but rather dif- 
ferent from Matthew's quotation. The resemblance of the last five chapters 
of Zechariah to Jeremiah in style and subject, and the unsuitableness of 
some parts to the time of the former, (see ch. x. 10, 11,) would lead us to 
think that Matthew was here correct as to the name of the book, and that 
those chapters were originally part of Jeremiah. Jerome said he had seen 
the text concerning the potter's field in an apocryphal book of Jeremiah. 
In Matt. xvii. t. iv. p. 134. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 89 

objects, then, might lead him to do the same in other places. 
Allowance must be made for many inaccuracies in every history ; 
but a few instances only of wilful perversion are enough to bring 
a writer into discredit. 

In the genealogy of Christ, he says that each of the epochs from 
Abraham to David, from David to the captivity, and from the cap- 
tivity to Christ, consisted of fourteen generations each. The last 
series contains only thirteen, unless Jeconiah, who ends the second, 
be counted again. This might be an oversight : but in the second, 
he omits four kings or generations — Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, 
and, further on, Jehoiakim, which makes his number exact.* It 
is difficult to consider this also as a mere oversight. Yet, since the 
name of Ahaziah or Ochozias is very much like that of his great 
grandson Uzziah or Ozias, the excuse might be admitted on behalf 
of an historian of known scrupulousness. 

Thus much must lead the reader to hesitate in ascribing to this 
gospel the character of a faithful narration of facts ; and the im- 
pression is confirmed by meeting with numerous stories, which, 
from external and internal evidence, bear the strongest marks of 
fiction. 

Matthew says that " Herod slew all the children that were 
in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years 
old and under," ii. 16 ; which is not mentioned by the other 
three evangelists, nor by Josephus, although the latter is very 
minute in detailing the barbarities of Herod. The conduct 
attributed to Herod is in itself absurd ; he makes no search 
after the one dangerous child, to whom the visit of the wise 
men must have afforded a good clue, but slays the children of 
a whole town and the adjoining country in a mass. It is incon- 
ceivable that any fit of anger could lead a politic old king, however 
tyrannical, to indulge in such useless and costly cruelty. And how 
could Josephus, who has filled thirty-seven chapters with the his- 
tory of Herod, omit all allusion to such a wholesale murder? 
Lardner supposes that Josephus wilfully suppressed this ; which 
is rather hard upon Josephus, since Mark, Luke, John, and all 
other historians, are as silent as he is. 

The whole account of the birth of Jesus is such, that if found 
by itself, it would be considered as a wild eastern tale, or an imita- 



* Some of the Fathers explained that these kings were omitted on ac- 
count of their wickedness ; but certainly Manasseh and Amon, who are in- 
serted, were as bad as any of the four. 



90 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

tion of some similar fables relating to the births of preceding 
heroes, philosophers, and divinities. 

The conversation and adventures of Jesus with the Enemy of 
mankind could be cited by few persons in modern times except as 
a poetical vision. Yet Matthew introduces them in the midst of 
things intended as facts, and as much in the style of facts as any 
part of his narrative. 

In the account of the crucifixion, he gives these miraculous inci- 
dents (in addition to the darkness and the rending of the veil of 
the temple, which are found in the others), viz. an earthquake, a 
rending of the rocks, the opening of the graves, and the resurrec- 
tion of many bodies of saints. None of these things, which one 
would think must have attracted some attention on the part of 
other Christians besides the individual compiler of this gospel, are 
mentioned by his fellow-evangelists whilst relating the connected 
circumstances ; nor are they alluded to in the Acts and Epistles ; 
an absence of testimony less remarkable, it is true, than m the 
former case. Without prejudging the question of the possibility 
of miracle, it cannot be denied that facts of this kind do require 
for their support, evidence stronger than the solitary and appa- 
rently careless assertion of an unknown writer ; one at least of 
whose character we have very little means of judging, beyond 
what can be gathered from the very writing which contains them. 

He alone also relates the dream of Pilate's wife, on account of 
which she warns the procurator to have nothing to do with Jesus, 
this being the sixth instance in this gospel of this mode of divine 
communication. The story bears improbability on its face. If the 
supernatural dream were intended to be an effective warning, it 
would most likely have been directed to Pilate himself, since it is 
allowed that he neglected the vision of his wife. If, on the other 
hand, it be considered as not really intended to avert the death of 
Jesus, but merely to serve as a testimony to his righteousness, the 
improbability arises, that the divine testimony could be given in 
the form of a feeble and inefficient attempt to save him. 

Some additional light will be thrown on Matthew's veracity 
when we come to examine Mark. 

IV. A great part of this gospel is made up of acts and sayings 
of Jesus in that short fragmentary form into which it is natural to 
suppose they must have fallen in the lapse of 35 years ; and in 
many instances it seems probable that the writer gives the version 
faithfully, or very nearly so, as it was presented to him by the 
most prevalent tradition of his church or time, or by some previous 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 91 

document ; because in such cases, the anecdote stops short at the 
saying of Jesus, the performance of the miracle, or some other re- 
markable point, without relating what followed, or otherwise con- 
necting itself necessarily with the thread of the narrative. For 
instance : 

The calling of the first four disciples (iv. 18 — 22) is a short tale 
complete in itself, ending at the most interesting point, viz. that 
James and John forsook all, and followed Jesus. The narrative 
both before and after is in a much less graphic style. This is 
exactly the form which such a remarkable fragment of the history 
of Jesus might have assumed in tradition, which drops all ex- 
cepting a few striking points or nuclei of interest. 

Chapters viii. and ix. consist almost entirely of detached anec- 
dotes of this kind, merely connected with such phrases as " and," 
"then," " and it came to pass," " and as he departed," &c, appa- 
rently more for the sake of keeping up the form of continuous 
narrative, than from a regard to real historical succession. See 
also ch. xii. xiii. 

The anecdote of the Scribe who wished to follow Jesus, ends at 
the saying, " the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." 
Either an eye-witness or . an inventor would probably have added 
whether the Scribe did or did not follow Jesus. In like manner 
we have the remarkable answer of Jesus to another disciple, " Let 
the dead bury their dead," without being told what was done by 
the disciple, viii. 18 — 22. The multitudes who were faint, ix. 
36, are evidently introduced for the sake of the saying which fol- 
lows, since nothing more is said of them. The anecdote of the 
dining with publicans and sinners ends at the reproof of Jesus, 
" I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance ; " 
although we cannot but suppose that there was more conversation, 
and that the scene must have furnished to an eye-witness further 
materials for description, ix. 10 — 13. 

But whilst many of these fragments have the appearance of being 
delivered to us faithfully, without any material addition beyond 
an insignificant connecting particle or phrase, there are, in many 
other cases, strong indications that the writer allowed himself to 
embellish or piece out the meagre record of a scene or discourse 
from his own imagination. The interest which he takes in his 
narrative urges him frequently beyond the narrow limits of known 
historical truth. In the scene at Gethsemane, he not only relates 
facts which might have reached him, but gives in an equally 
earnest and pathetic manner the prayers and movements of Jesus, 



92 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

whilst his only companions, Peter, James, and John, were asleep, 
xxvi. 36 — 45. In mentioning that Herod the tetrarch heard of 
the fame of Jesus (xiv. 1.) he puts into his mouth a speech very- 
consistent with the ideas of the Christians, but not at all congruous 
to the supposed speaker ; for the hasty conclusion that Jesus 
must be " John the Baptist risen from the dead, and therefore 
mighty works do show forth themselves in him," and especially 
the proclamation of such a fear, betoken a terror-stricken con- 
science approaching to insanity, for which there is not sufficient 
support in all that remains concerning Herod Antipas* More- 
over, in the account of John the Baptist, the warning given by 
him to the tetrarch on a matter of the most private nature, the 
motives of Herod, the agreement between Herodias and her 
daughter, were circumstances not likely to be known so accurately 
by one of the lower ranks in Judea, where the people had very 
little means of learning the secrets of courts ; and in fact, the 
whole account differs essentially from that given by Josephus, who 
from his rank and intimate acquaintance with the politics and 
leading men of Judea, must have had incomparably better means 
of knowing the truth, than either a cotemporary tax-gatherer, or 
a member of the Christian sect 35 years later.f 

This appearance of embellishment, or continuance of the subject 
beyond the authentic materials handed down, shows itself more 
frequently in the discourses and parables. The inspection of the 
temple by Jesus and his disciples (xxiv.) might very well be real ; 
possibly also the saying of Jesus concerning its future destruction, 
which is certainly much in the style of other brief fragmentary 
sayings apparently genuine ; besides which, the reflection that, 
owing to the rejection of the Messiah, the second temple would 
share the fate of the first, — was not incongruous to the point of 
the history in question. The amplification of this into an account 
of the last Jewish war has been noticed. The charge to the 
apostles, x. 5, bears strong marks of reality up to ver. 15 or 16; 



* Ant. xviii. ch. 2 — 7. He was a prince of a suspicious temper, but ap- 
parently not deficient in understanding and talent ; and, as Josephus says, 
he put John to death deliberately from political motives. 

f Even if Matthew's story could be traced to Joanna the wife of Chuza, 
this authority could not outweigh Josephus. Yet this channel assists the 
explanation of the manner in which the story might have been com- 
pounded, viz. of the agreed facts of Herod's marriage and John's death, 
some second-hand tales relating to Herod's court, and the additions of the 
writer himself. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 93 

but here, as if wanned with the subject, the writer makes Jesus 
dilate into a forcible and eloquent oration adapted to the ideas and 
necessities of the writer's own time. The testimony against the 
Gentiles, the salvation of him that endureth to the end, and the 
promise that "they should not have gone over the cities of Israel 
till the Son of Man be come," could hardly have been intelligible 
to the disciples at the period in question.* But it is in the highest 
degree natural that the writer, believing in the prophetic know- 
ledge of Jesus, should intermix with the relics of his directions, 
what he considered it fitting for him to have said with reference to 
the crisis at which the church had arrived. It is to be observed 
that both Mark and Luke in their account of the charge, stop 
short at places corresponding to Matthew's verses 14 and 15 ; 
i. e. before any apparent anachronism occurs. 

Among minor instances of the same kind may be placed perhaps 
the following : 

Matt. xi. 12. "And from the days of John the Baptist until now, 
the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by 
force" 

The mode of expression implies that the clays of John the 
Baptist were at a considerable distance from the time at which the 
thought occurred. It is very applicable to the weighty Boman 
yoke, the forcible subjection to which seemed to be the chief 
obstacle to the development of the kingdom announced by John 
the Baptist ; and to the continual violence which Judea suffered 
both before and during the war ; it seems therefore intended to 
keep up the hopes of the Jewish Christians that the Kingdom of 
Heaven, though so long deferred, would still be manifested in the 
chosen land.f 

xviii. 17. "If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church; 
but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen 
man and a publican." 



* We must not only attribute prophecy to Jesus himself, but a propheti- 
cal understanding to the disciples. It might be said, that he spoke pro- 
phetically without explanation, leaving it to be interpreted by events about 
35 years afterwards, i. e. when many, perhaps most, of his hearers would 
no longer be alive to receive the interpretation. This cannot be admitted 
when there is another explanation, so ready and simple, of the apparent 
anachronism. 

f The discourse is not in Mark. Luke vii. 28, stops exactly before the 
verse in question ; but he inserts it in a detached form in another place, 
xvi. 16. 



94 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

In the lifetime of Jesus there was no church (£K»e\jj<rta) or 
organized assembly of his followers. There were then synagogues,* 
and probably theological schools, or houses of the Rabbins (beth 
Midrash). But subsequently, the Christians generally adopted 
the term " the church" to signify their own body, the assembly of 
the elect (jkXmtoi), and in this sense exclusively it seems to hare 
been used by the year 68.J 

It is natural that when a writer confines himself to giving 
relics of real discourses, he should only be able to present us with 
small fragments ; but when he allows himself to speak for his 
characters, the style should become more eloquent and flowing. 
This distinction is very observable in Matthew. Those parts, 
forming perhaps the larger proportion, which appear from histori- 
cal considerations to give us very nearly real sayings of Jesus, are 
chiefly in the fragmentary style. See the discourse on the mount, 
evidently a miscellaneous collection ; the sayings and parables 
during the journeys about Galilee ; and the few sayings attributed 
to Jesus during his trial. But in those parts applicable to the 
time of the siege, x. 17 — 33, xxiv. and xxv., the style expands, as 
if the writer were giving vent to his own thoughts, or at least 
modifying and amplifying freely his authentic materials.^ Although 
this distinction is not invariable, § it must excite attention to find 
it especially well marked in the passages alluded to. 

V. Thus, there is in this gospel the appearance of a mixture of 
reality and fiction, the former constituting probably the larger 
proportion of the whole. As it is the earliest record extant, so it 
seems also to be, with all its imperfections, the best source from 
which we can obtain a general view of the life of Jesus ; for, 
notwithstanding some partial dislocations of the order of events, 



* Maimonides mentions several cases in which delinquencies were pro- 
claimed in the Synagogue. See Lightfoot in Matt, xviii. 17. 

f 1 Peter v. 13. James v. 14. It occurs freqiiently in nearly all the 
Epistles, and in the Acts. But nothing shows that such could have been 
assumed to be the current meaning of the term in the time of Jesus. 
Cruden gives only two instances of its use in the Gospels, Matt, xviii. 17. 
xvi. 18. 

See note on the word elect, p. 82. 

% This idea is supported by finding Luke's record of the parable of the ten 
talents very different from Matthew's, xxv. 14 — 30, the latter being evi- 
dently much more suitable to the later period. 

§ The reproofs of the Pharisees, ch. xxiii. for instance, are in a very con- 
tinuous fonn, although presenting for the most part strong appearances of 
genuineness. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 95 

and the probable mis-arrangement of many sayings, from the 
attempt to group similar ones together, this gospel gives a more 
clear and connected account of the progress of Jesus from bis 
baptism to bis deatb tban any otber. Taking tbis gospel by itself, 
tbe chronology and geography of the story present no very great 
difficulty. The fragments bear a vigour and unity of character, 
which it would be perhaps impossible to give to a collection of 
mere brief fictions ; and considering the proximity, in time and 
place, of its publication to the first circulation of the fragments 
and traditions, there is good reason to suppose that it preserves 
many things as they were delivered by the original eye-witness 
himself, and many more proceeding from him, but with more or 
less variation. That this eye-witness was the Apostle Matthew, 
the undisputed title of the book from early times, and the testi- 
mony of Papias, confirmed or repeated by other fathers, afford 
evidence of considerable weight. But that this eye-witness was 
the compiler of this whole gospel, would be very difficult to recon- 
cile with the impression given by reading it. In addition to what 
has been suggested, the notices of time and place are in general far 
from being so complete as one would expect from an eye-witness. 
There are continual chasms in the itinerary of Jesus ; and notwith- 
standing the apparent endeavour to preserve the connexion of the 
story by joining the incidents together with such phrases as 
"At that time" — ."And when" — "Then" — "From that time 
forth," &c, there are so many abrupt transitions, that it is difficult 
to imagine that the writer could have been travelling companion 
to Jesus for any length of time, as the disciples are represented to 
have been. For instance, ch. xv. 21, Jesus goes from thence, 
Gennesaret near the sea of Galilee, to the coasts of Tyre and 
Sidon, a distance of nearly 50 miles, and back again ; and nothing 
is told as to the object or incidents of this journey except the affair 
of the Syrophenician woman. In mentioning the many journeys 
of Jesus and his followers about the country, an eye-witness could 
hardly have avoided giving some particulars about the manner in 
which they were performed, such as the method of journeying, the 
number of the party, the difficulties from roads and weather, the 
houses at which they stayed, and the like. Such minutia?, however 
trifling, are almost inevitably interwoven with the narrations of an 
eye-witness ; although they soon disappear from the story, when it 
passes into other hands. In Matthew, they are wanting to such 
a degree that we cannot even guess whether Jesus performed his 
numerous land journeys on foot, by mules, or some other mode of 



96 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

conveyance. The difference between the narratives of a travelling 
companion and those of a second-hand narrator is seen very well 
by comparing Luke's account of Paul's latter journeys* with 
Matthew's indistinct sketches of those of Jesus, viz. " He departed 
from Galilee and came into the coasts of Judea," " when Jesus 
came into the coasts of Cesarea, Philippi," &c. The same sort of 
historical brevity is observable in many of the incidents recorded. 
Compare, for instance, the cure of the lunatic after the transfigura- 
tion with the same story in Mark. Moreover, (if the hypothesis 
of real miracles be rejected,) both the discourses and incidents are 
interwoven more closely with fiction than would probably be the 
case if the writer had been an eye-witness ; for such an one, from 
the vivid impression left by real scenes, would be likely to leave, 
at least, long continuous passages clear. Such is the case in the 
latter part of the Acts, where the stream of consecutive facts 
present in the writer's mind, leaves him little room to introduce 
things strictly miraculous, j 

There is another argument of much weight towards proving that 
Matthew the Apostle was not the author of this entire gospel. 
Papias says that Matthew wrote his logia in Hebreiv, which every 
one interpreted (or illustrated) as he was able. The expression 
logia\ is by no means equivalent to gospel, but might mean only 
detached fragmentary sayings ; and therefore when the fathers, sub- 
sequent to Papias, say that Matthew wrote his gospel in Hebrew, 
they may be only repeating his assertion incorrectly ; for it was a 
very natural inadvertence to confound the original logia of which 
he spoke, with the entire gospel which both comprised and super- 
seded the logia in their own time. But no one has left a record of 
having seen a Hebrew original of our Greek gospel according to 
Matthew, § nor can any trace of a translator and translation be dis- 



* See Acts xxi. 1—6, 8. 15—16 ; xxiii. 24, 31, 32 ; xxvii. ; xxviii. 10—16, 30. 

f In Credner's Einleitung, § 47, there is an additional argument of much 
weight. If the writer had been an apostle, he would have written indepen- 
dently of the church traditions, and if necessary have corrected them ; but 
on the contrary, he seems rather to gather his materials from those tradi- 
tions, as is strongly evidenced by his frequently giving double versions of 
the same incident : e. g. cure of the blind man — the feedings — demand of a 
sign — accusation respecting Beelzebub. 

% Xoyiov. Schrevelius — Oraculum ; responsum divinum. 

§ Jerome indeed said that a copy of the Hebrew gospel of Matthew used 
by the Nazarenes, was kept in the library of Cesarea in his time. Catal. 
vir. ill. c. 3. But in two other places he shows that this Hebrew gospel was 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 97 

covered. On the contrary, a large majority of the best commenta- 
tors since Erasmus, agree that the present Greek gospel bears 
strong indications of being itself an original,* and we know that 
Jews were accustomed to write in Greek, when they intended their 
writing for circulation. f This then would of itself furnish ground 
for supposing that Matthew the Apostle, if he wrote anything, wrote 
only certain fragments or logia in Hebrew (i. e. probably Syro- 
Chaldaic), and that some one else after him wrote the Greek 
gospel which has come down to us, incorporating those logia, 
whence it was called the gospel according to Matthew, and in the 
second century came to be considered as the work of that apostle. 
Upon the whole, then, the most that we can conclude seems to 
be, that this gospel was the work of some one who became a 
member of the Jewish church before the war, and who collected the 
relics of the acts and sayings of Jesus reported by Matthew the 
apostle, introducing some traditions which he found elsewhere, and 
filling up copiously from his own invention.:}: His aim was, pro- 
bably, to do honour to Jesus and the common cause, to strengthen 
the church under the trying circumstances of the times, and to be 
the author of a work which should be generally acceptable to his 
brethren. That such a man should not always adhere to strict 
truth seems quite consistent with human nature, since in the sub- 
setpient times, and in the Christian Church, we find pious men and 
sincere believers allowing themselves to countenance palpable false- 
hoods^ 

not considered identical with the commonly received gospel of Matthew. 
" The gospel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use, which we lately 
translated from Hebrew into Greek, and which is called by many (plerisque) 
the authentic one of Matthew." — Comment, in Matt. xii. 13. "In the 
gospel according to the Hebrews, which is written in the Chaldaic and 
Syriac tongue, but in Hebrew letters, which the Nazarenes use to this day, 
according to the apostles, or, as many (plerique) maintain, according to 
Matthew, and which is kept in the library of Cesarea, &c." — Contra Pelag. 
3, 2. This shows very plainly that Jerome did not find that Hebrew gospel 
to agree with the common Greek one so far as to establish their identity, 
for then it would have been superfluous for the Nazarenes and others 
(plerique) to maintain that it was the authentic one. 

* A minute review of the arguments on this point is in Credner's Einlei- 
tung, § 42-46 on Matthew. 

f The epistle of James written in Greek, and probably at Jerusalem, one 
instance. 

% Further evidence of this will be found in chap. vii. and viii. 

§ Irenaeus, arguing against the heretics, who only allowed thirty-one 
years to Christ's life, and the last alone to his ministry, affirmed that 
Christ was fifty years old at least at the time of his death ; for which he 
H 



y« ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

The question of the writer's veracity is the most important one 
as regards the miraculous origin of Christianity, but whilst occu- 



alleges the unanimous testimony of all the old men who had lived with St. 
John in Asia, some of whom had also heard the same account from the 
other apostles. " Quidam autem eorum non solum Joannem, sed et alios 
apostolos viderunt, et hsec eadem ab ipsis audierunt, et testantur de hujus- 
modi relatione." L. 2, c. 39. This approaches very nearly to apostolic 
testimony ; yet it is at variance with many important parts of the New 
Testament history. 

The same Father also asserted, that in the church in his time some had 
been raised from the dead, and lived afterwards several years, " Jam etiam, 
quemadmodum diximus et mortui resurrexerunt, et perseveraverunt nobis- 
cum annis multis." L. 2, c. 22, 4. 

Speaking of the millennium, he says, " The elders who saw John, the dis- 
ciple of the Lord, relate that they had heard from him, how that the Lord 
taught concerning those times, and said, The days will come in which 
there shall grow vineyards having each 10,000 vine stocks, and each stock 
10,000 branches, each branch 10,000 shoots, each shoot 10,000 bunches, 
each bunch 10,000 grapes ; and each grape squeezed shall yield twenty- 
five measures of wine ; and when any of the saints shall go to pluck a 
bunch, another bunch will cry out, I am better ; take me, and bless the 
Lord through me. In like manner a grain of wheat sown, shall bear 
10,000 stalks, each stalk 10,000 grains, and each grain 10,000 pounds of 
the finest flour ; and so all other fruits, seeds and herbs, in the same pro- 
portion. &c. These words Papias, a disciple of St. John, and companion of 
Polycarp, an ancient man, testifies in writing in his fourth book, and adds, 
that they are credible to those who believe." Iren. 1. 2, c. 33. 

Irenseus thus gives the credit of this story to Papias, who was said by 
Eusebius to be a weak man, and of a very shallow understanding. But 
Papias speaks for himself thus : " As oft as I met with any one who had 
conversed with the ancients, I always inquired very diligently after their 
saying and doctrines ; what Andrew, Peter, Philip, John and the rest of 
the Lord's apostles used to teach. For I was persuaded I could not profit 
so much by books as by the voice of living witnesses." Euseb. H. E. 1. 3, 
c. 39. 

Justin Martyr, speaking of the seventy elders who were shut up in cells 
without communication with each other, and whose translations of the 
Scriptures were found to agree verbatim from beginning to end, says, 
" that he is not telling a fable or forged tale, but that he himself had seen 
at Alexandria the remains of those very cells in which the translators had 
been shut up." Cohort, ad Grsecos, p. 14. 

Tertullian, writing against theatres, says, "An example happened, as 
the Lord is witness, of a woman who went to the theatre, and came back 
with a devil in her ; whereupon, when the unclean spirit was urged and 
threatened for having dared to attack one of the faithful, he replied, I have 
done nothing but what is very fair, for I found her on my own ground." 
De Spectac. 26. On which Middleton remarks, that although it might be 
true that terrors of conscience threw the woman into some disorder, we 
cannot but suspect that the smart answer of the devil was contrived by 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW. 99 

pied chiefly with this, we might be led to form an undeservedly 
low estimate of his book. This memorable record comes to us as 
the principal and earliest history extant of the founder of the 
Christian church, and we find in it merit not altogether incom- 
mensurate with the influence which it has exercised. The rude 
poetry of warm and unrestrained imagination prevails throughout ; 
the zealous Jewish Christian endeavouring to commemorate his 
master, thinks not of future theologians and critics, but recklessly 
invests Jesus with all the dignity which fulfilled prophecy, visions, 
and convulsions of nature, could suggest to an uncultivated reader 
of the Hebrew legends. The position of the church and of Judea 
imparts solemnity to his story even in its wildest romance. We 
seem to distinguish the sword in the sky hanging over Jerusalem 
in its last days, and the portentous voice of woe which resounded 
in her streets ; we behold the perplexity of the people fearing the 
things which were coming to pass, and share the anxiety of the 
band of elect looking for the long-deferred sign of the Son of Man 
from Heaven. Amidst the tokens of impending ruin to Israel, we 
feel with him the deep interest of every apostolic reminiscence 
which could lead the Christians to see in themselves a New Israel 
of the Messiah's saints ; and in contrast with the cruelties of the 
military factions, and the seductions of the false prophets, we per- 
ceive the fascination of every fiction which might confirm their 
belief in their own leader Jesus as an invisible protector, the true 
Messiah and Son of God. 



Tertullian himself, to enforce his doctrine of the sin and danger of fre- 
quenting theatres. 

Epiphanius said, that, "in imitation of the miracle at Cana in Galilee, 
several fountains and rivers in his days were annually turned into wine. 
A fountain at Cibyra, a city of Caria," says he, " and another at Gerasa in 
Arabia, prove the truth of this. I myself have drunk out of the fountain 
of Cibyra, and my brethren out of the other at Gerasa ; and many testify 
the same thing of the river Nile." Adv. Efer. 1. 2, c. 30. 

For more evidence of the credulity and want of veracity of many of the 
Fathers, see Middleton's Inquiry concerning the Miraculous Powers of the 
Early Church. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL OF 
ST. MARK. 

John, whose surname was Mark, sometimes called simply Mark 
(Col. iv. 10), nephew of Barnabas, was an early convert who took 
a zealous part in the missionary proceedings of the church, and 
was frequently the companion of Paul. Acts xii. 12, 25 ; xiii. 5, 
13 ; xv. 37. Col. iv. 10. Philem. 24. The writer of the Gospel 
was, according to the unanimous testimony of the church, a follower 
of Peter, and therefore not improbably the person whom Peter calls 
his son, perhaps in a spiritual sense. 1 Peter v. 13. He wrote 
his Gospel at Rome. Afterwards, according to Eusebius, Epipha- 
nius, and Jerome, he preached the gospel in Egypt, and was first 
bishop of the church at Alexandria. 

That John Mark, or Mark, nephew of Barnabas, and sometimes 
follower of Paul, is the same as Mark the disciple of Peter, does 
not therefore appear certain, but very probable. 

His Gospel appears to be quoted by Clemens Romanus, 
A.D. 96. 

The first who names him is Papias, A.D. 116, who says, " And 
this, the presbyter (John) said : Mark being the interpreter of 
Peter, wrote exactly whatever he remembered, but not in the order 
in which things were spoken or done by Christ. For he was 
neither a hearer nor follower of the Lord ; but, as I said, after- 
wards followed Peter, who made his discourses for the profit of 
those that heard him, but not in the way of a regular history of 
our Lord's words. Mark, however, committed no mistake in 
writing some things as they occurred to his memory. For this 
one thing he made his care, to omit nothing which he had heard, 
and to say nothing false in what he related." 

A. D. 178. Irenseus. " After the death or departure (t&dov) 
of Peter and Paul, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, 
delivered to us in writing the things that had been preached by 
Peter." 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK. 101 

A. D. 194. Clement of Alexandria, as cited by Ensebius. 
" Clement informs us tbat the occasion of writing the Gospel ac- 
cording to Mark was this : Peter, having publicly preached the 
word at Rome, and having spoken the Gospel by the Spirit, many 
who were there entreated Mark to write the things that had been 
spoken, he having long accompanied Peter, and retaining what he 
had said : and that when he had composed the Gospel, he delivered 
it to them, who had asked it of him : which when Peter knew, he 
neither forbade it, nor encouraged it." In another place, Eusebius 
gives the following as Clement's account : " Peter's hearers at 
Eome, not content with a single hearing, nor with an unwritten 
instruction in the divine doctrine, entreated Mark, the follower of 
Peter, that he would leave with them, in writing, a memorial of 
the doctrine which had been delivered to them by word of mouth ; 
nor did they desist until they had prevailed with him. Thus they 
were the means of writing the Gospel which is called according to 
St. Mark. It is said, that when the Apostle knew it, he was 
pleased with the zeal of the men, and authorized that scripture to 
be read in the churches." 

A. D. 230. Origen. " The second Gospel is that according to 
Mark, who wrote it as Peter dictated it to him." 

A. D. 315. Eusebius. " Peter out of an abundance of modesty, 
thought not himself worthy to write a Gospel. But Mark, who 
was his friend and disciple, is said to have recorded Peter's relations 
of the acts of Jesus." 

A.D. 368. Epiphanius. " Matthew wrote first, and Mark soon 
after him, being a companion of Peter at Rome." 

A. D. 392. Jerome. " Mark, disciple and interpreter of Peter, 
at the desire of the brethren at Eome, wrote a short Gospel accord- 
ing to what he had heard related by Peter : which when Peter 
knew, he approved of it, and anthorized it to be read in the 
churches : as Clement writes in the sixth book of his Institutions, 
and also Papias, bishop of Hierapolis. Peter also makes mention 
of this Mark in his epistle written at Rome, which he figuratively 
calls Babylon. Taking the Gospel which himself had composed, 
he went to Egypt, and at Alexandria founded a church of great 
note. He died in the eighth year of Nero,* and was buried at 
Alexandria." 

* There must be some mistake in fixing the 8th year of Nero, or A.D. 
61, for Mark's death, since Jerome himself places Peter's death in the last 
year of Nero, or A.D. 68, after which, according to the chief testimonies, 
Mark preached his gospel. 



102 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

A. D. 398. By Chrysostom, Mark is said to have written his 
Gospel in Egypt, at the request of the believers there. However, 
at the end of that passage he says : "In what place each of the 
evangelists wrote, cannot be said with certainty." 

These are the chief early testimonies ; and they are not so 
satisfactory as we could wish as to the important point, whether 
Peter knew of and sanctioned what Mark wrote. It appears from 
the earlier ones, that this Gospel was not published till after Peter's 
death, which, according to Jerome and Bede, was in A.D. 68. 

If it had been perfectly clear that Peter had given his sanction to 
this production of his follower, in so unequivocal a manner that it 
might be regarded as the Apostle's own declaration of his master's 
history, this Gospel would have a very high claim to credibility in 
its main features ; because no one had better means of knowing 
the truth ; and from what is recorded of Peter, the esteem of Jesus 
for him, the respect of the church, and the character of his own 
epistle, his statement must deserve at least a respectful examina- 
tion. But to admit that whatever proceeded from this source must 
necessarily be true, would be an absurd extreme. We could say so 
much as this but of very few persons, even after knowing them most 
intimately. The amount of our acquaintance with Peter, after 
studying the whole of the New Testament, would not relieve us 
from the necessity of paying some regard to internal evidence and 
collateral support. 

But the decided sanction of Peter is wanting. The early church 
authorities offer no proof of it, and do not seem to have relied 
much upon this point. It is possible that his follower Mark may 
have remembered or registered correctly what Peter said, and 
given it honestly. Therefore this second history of Jesus has still 
a high claim to respectful consideration. But the necessity of 
weighing the internal evidence is in this case stronger than in the 
former. 

II. The first thing that attracts notice is the general similarity 
of the contents of this Gospel to those of the first. This agrees 
with the external evidence of the date, [soon after A. D. 68,] for 
two histories written near the same time would present generally 
the same facts, being those preserved at that time, and also the 
form in which those facts were then usually repeated. Augustine 
called Mark the epitomizer of Matthew ; and it is generally agreed 
that the two could not have corresponded to so great an extent, both 
in the narrations, discourses, and in particular expressions, without 
some means of connection, either by copying from each other, 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK. 103 

or from, some common document, or by recording the same oral 
traditions. 

Nevertheless, a careful reading of Mark soon convinces us that 
he is not merely a copier. There is evidently the infusion of some 
historical details gathered from some other source than Matthew ; 
relics apparently of real sayings and circumstances, by which he 
seems to bring us more nearly than the first evangelist does, into 
the presence of Jesus. Although probably mixing these relics 
of reality with some spurious matter, he seems to have had access 
to one of the channels of original information not very far from its 
source. 

This must be judged of by the graphic nature of the details, 
their appropriateness of time and place, the improbability of in- 
vention, and other considerations difficult to classify, but which 
ordinarily influence us in receiving narrations as true. Thus : — 

I. 34. He represents it as the general case that the demons 
did not speak themselves on being cast out, and intimates that it 
was a fact considered worthy of some notice, by adding the cur- 
rent explanation, viz. : that Jesus would not suffer them, "because 
they knew him." The circumstance itself was doubtless time, for 
the course of tradition would rather be to enhance the wonder of 
the occurrence by words and acts of the demons themselves, as we 
find in some of the stories. 

IX. 30. In relating one of the journeys through Galilee, Mark 
adds, " he would not that any man should know it." Probably 
true, because Galilee was the tetrarchy of Herod, whom, as we 
learn from Matthew, Jesus was then avoiding. But Mark himself 
appears to be unconscious of this reason, and gives one which by 
no means explains the secrecy, viz. : his teaching the doctrine of 
his sufferings, verse 31. 

IX. 38 — 40. Mark adds the incident of one whom John had 
forbidden to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. Jesus tells 
him not to "forbid him," and concludes, " for he that is not against 
us is on our part." This was very natural language for the head 
of a band of men bearing a political aspect, and under proscription 
as Jesus was at that time, in a country of which the populace were 
generally favourable to his views. 

X. 1. In relating the arrival of Jesus in the coasts of Judea 
by the further side of Jordan, Mark says, " the people resort unto 
him again.'''' The word " again" (jraXiv) is not in Matthew, but it 
is eminently appropriate ; Jesus had been in retreat, and could only 
appear again in public with safety, on arriving in another district. 



104 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

X. 32. On going up to Jerusalem, Mark adds, " they were 
amazed and afraid." This was very natural. The entrance into 
the metropolis openly in their weak unprotected state, appeared to 
them so audacious as to excite alarm notwithstanding their trust 
in Jesus. Mark himself appears not to be alive to the political 
aspect of the proceedings, but the narration of Peter had probably 
preserved this trace of reality. 

He frequently adds particulars which there could have been no 
motive for inventing ; e. g., that the colt was found in a place 
where two ways met, xi. 4 ; that Jesus on first entering the 
temple, merely looked about upon all things, and returned the 
next day to expel the money-changers, xi. 11 ; the incident of the 
young man with the linen cloth, xiv. 51 ; that Simon the Cyrenian 
was the father of Alexander and Eufus. Minutiee of this kind, 
natural in themselves, but without purport to the story, indicate 
strongly proximity to the narrations of an eye-witness. The cure 
of a deaf and dumb man, vii. 31 — 37 ; the cure of a blind man at 
Bethsaicla, viii. 22 — 26 ; the story of the widow's mite, xii. 41 ; 
some additional particulars concerning the raising of Jairus's 
daughter ; and the cure of the lunatic after the transfiguration ; 
bear also the appearance of being founded upon real incidents. 

This forms nearly the whole of Mark's stock of separate infor- 
mation obtained from Peter or others, and is but a small part of 
the whole work. It is sufficient however to show that Mark as a 
narrator had some independent ground, and therefore that in the 
much larger part, where he repeats Matthew's narratives, these 
portions of Christ's history acquire considerable additional support. 
But it will be seen that there are some important parts of Matthew 
which he does not repeat. 

III. Although Mark serves as a channel through which small 
additional fragments of the original transactions reach us, he him- 
self seems to be in a great measure unconscious of the primary 
nature and meaning of those transactions. The distance of time 
and place- caused the narrators to view facts which they were re- 
lating with substantial correctnes, through the medium of existing 
ideas, rather than in the original light. This seems to have been 
the case to some degree with the compiler of Matthew ; much more 
so with Mark. He sees things as might be expected from a 
Christian disciple writing at a distance from Judea, and at a time 
when the ideas of the Church had made some movement. The 
semi-political bearing of the Messianic scheme is by him lost sight 
of; the kingdom of God he identifies with the spread of the 



THE GOSPEL OP ST. MARK. 105 

Gospel ; Jewish types and prophecies are to him comparatively 
■unimportant ; and the indications of severe Judaism which occur 
in Matthew, are by him softened into a shape more fitted for 
Gentile readers. This more distant point of view influences his 
story so much, that the additional information he gives would be 
but of little use towards clearing up the history of Jesus, if 
Matthew and Josephus had not supplied us with the key. 

The outset of Jesus's ministry had been described by Matthew 
thus : " From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Eepent, 
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," which agrees with the 
expectation described by Josephus, of the renovation of the theo- 
cracy. But Mark adds an explanation of the phrase very suitable 
to the ideas of a Gentile church ; " Jesus came into Galilee 
preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The 
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent ye, 
and believe the Gospel," i. 14, 15. Believing the Gospel, according 
to his notion, was the kingdom of God. Christianity had become 
a system of belief. 

The same thing is seen more strikingly in his account of the 
charge to the apostles. Matthew's account, x. 1 — 8, shows a very 
distinct design of the apostleship, viz. : to preach through the 
cities of Israel, that " the kingdom of heaven was at hand." The 
gifts of healing, &c, were merely subsidiary powers for this main 
purpose. But Mark, having lost sight of the original purport of 
the apostolic mission, gives this laboured and meagre account of it, 
iii. 14, 15: "And he ordained twelve, that they should be with 
him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have 
power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils." The important 
point, what they were to preach, is omitted. Again in chapter vi. 
7 — 13, he describes the sending forth of the twelve two by two ; 
but the whole charge consists in giving power over unclean spirits, 
and directions for the mode of journey. He concludes merely, 
" and they went out, and preached that men should repent. And 
they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were 
sick, and healed them." All which by no means comes up to the 
signification of the charge in Matthew. The striking Judaism in 
the account of his predecessor might have been an additional 
reason for Mark's curtailing and modifying it. Matt. x. 5 — 7: 
" Go not into the way of the Gentles, and into any city of the 
Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel, and as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of 



106 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

heaven is at hand." This was likely to be soon modified in a 
Gentile church. 

The death of John the Baptist is related by Matthew as affording 
the motive for the retreat of Jesus, xiv. 12 — 13. " And (John's 
disciples) went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it, he de- 
parted thence by ship into a desert place." Mark gives the facts, 
but omits to see the connection, and probably unconsciously mars 
it, by the introduction of another verse. " And the apostles 
gathered themselves together to Jesus, and told him all things, 
both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he 
said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and 
rest awhile." — vi. 30, 31. So that without Matthew, the im- 
portant bearing of John's execution upon the conduct of Jesus 
would have been lost. 

In several other places besides the charge to the apostles, Mark 
modifies the narrative of Matthew into a form better adapted for 
Gentile readers. For instance : — 

Matt. xv. In the story of the Canaanitish woman, Jesus says, 
u I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 
Mark leaves this out altogether. " Then she fell down before 
him saying, Lord, help me. But he answered, and said, It is not 
meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." Mark 
softens this for the Gentiles in this manner : Let the children Jirst 
■be filled, for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast 
it unto the dogs." 

Matt. xxiv. 20, " But pray ye that your flight be not in the 
winter, neither on the Sabbath day." Mark has omitted the last 
clause. 

Matt. xvii. 10, Jesus says that Elias was already come. " Then 
the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the 
Baptist." Mark omits this explanation, so that it must be very 
doubtful to his readers who the Elias spoken of was. The point 
was chiefly interesting to Jews. 

Matt. xix. 28, And Jesus said unto them, " Verily I say unto 
you, that ye who have followed me in the regeneration, when the 
Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit 
upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Mark 
leaves this out, and proceeds with the rest of the promise, x. 29. 

Most of Matthew's quotations from the prophets are omitted. 

Amongst minor indications of distance from the original scene 
are the following. He calls Herod, the king, (vi. 14,) instead of 



THE GOSPEL OP ST. MARK. 107 

the tetrareh, and speaks of the half of his kingdom; although 
Matthew had. given the title correctly. The term tetrareh being- 
unusual, and Herod Antipas less known than Herod the King, i. e. 
Herod the Great, it was natural for Mark and the Christians at 
Eome* who did not study closely the Jewish history of the previous 
seventy years, to confound them. For Matthew's quotation from 
Isaiah vi. 9, " lest they should be converted, and I should heal 
them" Mark, less mindful of the expressions of a Jewish prophet, 
substitutes his own notion of the benefits of Christ's kingdom ; 
" lest they be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them." — 
iv. 12. His account of the answer that Satan cannot cast out 
Satan, iii. 23, agrees nearly with Matthew's, except that he omits, 
" by whom do your children cast them out?" the meaning of which 
might be obscure to others than Jews. He describes the washings 
of " the Pharisees and of all the Jews," vii. 3 ; the fastings, ii. 18 ; 
the river Jordan, i. 5 ; more in the tone of an indifferent observer, 
than of a native Jew, to whom such things must have been a kind 
of sacred knowledge from his youth. f 

IV.. The style of Mark has strong peculiarities, earnestness, 
warmth, and almost child-like simplicity. He is contented with 
narrating facts, and omits all long discourses ; anything contro- 
versial or obscure he sedulously shuns. See the conversation at 
the baptism, Matt. iii. 14, 15 ; the dialogue with Satan, Matt. iv. 
3 — 10 ; "he that is not with me is against me, and he that ga- 
thereth not with me, scattereth abroad," Matt. xii. 30 ; Matt. xiL 
5 — 7 ; all omitted by Mark. Matthew's quotations from the pro- 
phets were also probably omitted because he could not perceive their 
application. He exhibits a great interest in his story, and gives 
all his strength to set it off to the best advantage : but this is 
done more by tautological expressions and mere repetitions than by 
the addition of fresh ideas to the more concise narrations of 
Matthew. Except in those few cases where he seems to bring ad- 
ditional information, Mark appears, in comparison with Matthew, 



* A confusion of this kind, arising out of the historical fact of the sus- 
picions entertained by Herod Antipas towards Jesus, might have occasioned 
Matthew's story of the attempt to seize the child on the part of Herod the 
king, who died probably two years before Jesus was born. 

f This imperfectly Judaical tone of Mark might arise also from his con- 
sciousness that he was to be read by Gentiles. If he was the same as John 
Mark, whose mother Mary had a house at Jerusalem, Acts xii. 12, he must 
have been well acquainted with Jewish usages. He might have been a 
proselyte, and the style noticed would be very natural in this case. 



108 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

a prolix second-hand narrator, who lengthens his story by many 
swollen expressions, without adding anything to the real force and 
point. For instance : 

Mark i. 32 — 84, "And at even, when the sun did set* they 
brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were 
possessed with devils, and all the city was gathered together at the 
door. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and 
cast out many devils," &c. 

Mark ii. 18, " And the disciples of John, and of the Pharisees, 
used to fast, and they come, and say unto him, " Why do the dis- 
ciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast 
not ? " &c. 

Mark iv. 30, " And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the king- 
dom of God ? or with what comparison shall we compare it ? It is 
like a grain of mustard-seed, which when it is sown in the earth 
is less than all the seeds that he in the earth. But when it is sown 
it groweth up," &c. 

Mark vi. 49, " But when they saw him walking upon the sea, 
they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out {for they all saiv 
him and were troubled) ; and immediately he talked with them, and 
saith unto them," &c. 

Mark viii. 1, "In those days the multitude being very great, and 
having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him, and saith 
unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have 
now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat. And if I 
send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the 
way : for divers of them came from afar" 

The account of John's death, contained in ten verses in Mat- 
thew, is given by Mark in thirteen longer ones, without any thing 
strictly new. 

Some of his embellishments might be thought somewhat to mar 
his narrative, iii. 5, " And when he had looked round about on 
them with anger;" 13, "And he goeth up into a mountain, and 
calleth unto him whom he would, and they came unto him;" 
xi. 13, " For the time of figs was not yet;" v. 30, "And Jesus 
knowing immediately in himself that virtue was gone out of 
him." 

He endeavours to aggrandize Jesus to the utmost that his 
materials will allow him, by repeating again and again the amaze- 
ment of the beholders, ii. 12 ; vi. 2 ; the great numbers who were 

* The parts in Italics are in addition to Matthew. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK. 109 

attracted by him, iii. 7, 8 ; vi. 56 ; so that there was no room 
about the door, ii. 2 ; so that they could not eat bread, iii. 20 ; 
vi. 31 ; by the reverent confession of the devils, i. 24 ; iii. 11 ; by 
the solemn preliminary of looking round about him previous to 
speaking, iii. 34 ; viii. 33 ; x. 27. But he has evidently much less 
talent and imagination than the compiler of the first Gospel, and 
although apparently well-disposed to enhance the marvellous com- 
plexion of his story, his additions, whether his own or selected by 
him, are of a very poor kind as compared with the bold poetical 
fictions of dreams, angels, and earthquakes in Matthew. See his 
edition of the story of the swine, where he has, in addition to 
Matthew's short story, these enhancements, that the demoniac had 
often broken his chains, that the unclean spirit gave his name 
Legion (in Latinized Greek), and on obtaining the consent of 
Jesus that they should not be sent out of the country, forthwith 
multiplied himself into a sufficient number of devils to fill a herd 
of swine in number about 2,000.* This disposition to seize upon 
the mere childishly marvellous without the poetical, is seen strongly 
in Mark's neglect of the greater part of the most eloquent dis- 
courses and parables in Matthew. By him they are either omitted 
or reduced to tame epitomes ; whilst he devotes the space saved to 
the amazement and numbers of the multitudes, and other insipid 
amplifications. 

Notwithstanding Mark's disposition to enhance the marvellous, 
in some of the accounts of miracles where he inserts additional 
particulars, these, apparently unintentionally on his part, render the 
miracle more doubtful than as it stands in Matthew : as in the 
account of the barren fig-tree. Matthew would make it appear 
that the tree withered at once when Jesus spoke ; but from Mark 
we learn that it was only found. withered the next day. So also in 
the case of the lunatic after the transfiguration : Mark's account 
shows that the demon convulsed the child after the words were 
spoken ; a very important point, which does not appear in Mat- 
thew. And the additional miracles inserted by Mark, the cure of 



* By comparing this stoiy with that of Eleazar and the bason in Jose- 
phus, Ant. viii. 2, 5, it would seem that the disturbance of some remote 
object was regarded as a proof of the demon's exit. Hence Matthew says 
the swine were a good way off. The upsetting of a bason of water bears an 
evident, though modest resemblance, to the sudden madness of 2,000 dis- 
tant swine. The more distant the object which the demon encountered in 
his invisible flight, the more clear and satisfactory must his expulsion 
appear. 



110 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

the deaf and dumb man, ch. vii., and of the blind man at Beth- 
saida, viii., are very different from the instantaneous miracles in 
Matthew. 

V. But one most striking peculiarity observable on comparing 
the two Gospels, is the omission by Mark of some very important 
parts of Matthew. This omission must have much influence in 
determining the historical credibility of Matthew, and in order to 
reason upon it, we should first endeavour to decide whether Mark 
had seen or become acquainted with what Matthew had written. 

It must be allowed that many of the acts and sayings of Jesus, 
being repeated frequently in the churches, must have acquired 
somewhat of a fixed form. The superstitious scrupulousness with 
which the Jews were accustomed to preserve the sayings of their 
Rabbins was favourable to the preservation of these fragments, 
although probably the original sayings were not preserved with an 
equal degree of exactness as in that case, from the disciples not 
being provided with the means of recording which probably formed 
part of the apparatus of the Jewish schools. Two independent 
histories, however, might be expected to contain many fragments 
closely resembling in form and expression. 

But on the other hand, this method of preservation, especially 
during the lapse of forty years, must have been limited and inse- 
cure. Variations must have crept, in different churches, into the 
ways of narrating the same incident, and the order of the frag- 
ments must have been so perpetually disturbed, that we should 
hardly expect to find them cohering in the same succession for any 
considerable portion of the history. In fact, we recognize these 
disturbing influences in some parts of the three first Gospels, some 
of the stories being told in very different ways, and the order of 
events being very much dislocated. 

These differences of narration and order existing to such a 
degree between the first three Gospels, (and the case is much 
stronger if we add the fourth,) as to prove that the means of 
preserving by oral tradition during such a length of time and in 
distant places, was very insecure ; we have to consider whether 
that remarkable correspondence which the greater part of Mark 
exhibits with Matthew, can be accounted for by that means. The 
first part of Mark, to ch. vi. 14, is in such a different order to 
Matthew's, although the separate stories agree very closely, that 
it might of itself be supposed to be an independent history, pro- 
bably founded on the same detatched oral fragments. Yet, on the 
other hand, the divergencies do not exclude the supposition of 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK. 



Ill 



Mark's having made some use of Matthew even in this part ; for 
he might have preferred to relate this first part of the history in 
the order in which he had been accustomed to hear it in his own 
church before Matthew wrote ; availing himself of Matthew only 
as a ready-made and convenient collection of the fragments. 

But from vi. 14, corresponding with Matt. xiv. 1, the two agree 
continuously ; or with only such variations as do not dislocate the 
order, viz. : a few additions or omissions by Mark. The length 
of this agreeing part is so great, from the departure from Galilee 
to the death of Jesus, that it is difficult to imagine how the corres- 
pondence could have arisen except from copying. Two or three 
stories cohering together might be preserved in different channels 
of tradition, but not a history of ten chapters. The order of the 
occurrences was as liable to be partially disturbed by tradition as 
those during the journeys in Galilee. But we have the occurrences 
during the journey from Galilee, the abode at Jerusalem, the trial 
and crucifixion, all following in the same order in each. Whilst 
therefore the dislocation in the first six chapters does not disprove 
Mark's acquaintance with Matthew, the continuous and remarkable 
agreement in the next ten is strongly in favour of it. 

The similarity of expressions not only in the discourses, but in 
the narration of events, seems to be more frequent and close than 
can be accounted for on any other hypothesis. For instance : — 



Matt. iv. 18, And Jesus walking 
by the sea of Galilee, saw two bre- 
thren, Simon called Peter, and An- 
drew his brother, casting a net 
(a[Mpi(3\r)iTTpov) into the sea ; for they 
were fishermen. And he saith unto 
them, Follow me, and I will make 
you fishers of men. And they 
straightway left their nets (Siktvo.), 
and followed him. And going out 
from thence, he saw two other bro- 
thers, James the son of Zebedee, and 
John his brother, in a ship with 
Zebedee their father, mending their 
nets : and he called them, and they 
immediately left the ship and their 
father, and followed him. 

Matt. viii. 2, And behold there 
came a leper, and made obeisance to 
him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou 
canst make me clean. And Jesus put 
forth his hand, and touched him, say- 
ing, I will ; be thou clean. And 



Mark i. 16, Now as he walked by 
the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and 
Andrew his brother casting a net 
(an(pij3\T]STpov) into the sea ; for 
they were fishermen. And Jesus 
said unto them, Follow me, and I will 
make you to become fishers of men. 
And straightway they forsook their 
nets (SiKrva) and followed him ; and 
when he had gone a little further 
thence, he saw James the son of Ze- 
bedee, and John his brother, who also 
were in the ship mending their nets. 
And straightway he called them : and 
they left their father Zebedee in the 
ship with the hired servants (one 
word, niaOdircov), and went after him. 

Mark i. 40, And there came a leper 
to him, beseeching him, and kneeling 
down to him, saying unto him, If 
thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 
And Jesus, moved with compassion, 
put forth his hand, and touched him, 



112 



ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 



immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 
And Jesus saith unto him, See thou 
tell no man ; but go they way ; shew 
thyself to the priest, and offer the gift 
that Moses commanded for a testi- 
mony unto them. 



Matt. ix. 9, And as Jesus passed 
forth from thence, he saw a man 
named Matthew sitting at the receipt 
of custom (to Ti\o)viov) ; and he saith 
unto him, Follow me. And he arose, 
and followed him. And it Jcame 
to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the 
house, behold, many publicans and 
sinners came and sat down with him 
and his disciples. 

Matt. xiii. 1. The same day went 
Jesus out of the house, and sat by 
the sea side. And great multitudes 
were gathered together unto him, so 
that he went into a ship and sat ; and 
the whole multitude stood on the 
shore. And he spake many things 
unto them in parables, saying, Behold 
a sower went forth to sow ; and when 
he sowed, some fell by the way side, 
&c. 

Matt. xiv. 22, And straightway 
Jesus constrained his disciples to get 
into a ship, and to go before him unto 
the other side, while he sent the 
multitude away. And when he had 
sent the multitudes away, he went 
up into a mountain privately to pray. 

Matt. xiii. 33, Another parable 
spake he unto them. (Then follow at 
length the parables of the leaven, the 
treasure hid in a field, the pearls, 
the net cast into the sea, &c, and the 
explanation of the tares to the dis- 
ciples.) 



and saith unto him, I will ; be thou 
clean. And as soon as he had spoken, 
immediately the leprosy departed from 
him, and he was cleansed. And he 
straightly charged him, and forth- 
with sent him away ; and saith unto 
him, See thou say nothing to any man, 
but go thy way ; shew thyself to the 
priest, and offer for thy cleansing the 
things which Moses commanded for a 
testimony unto them. 

Mark ii. 14, And as he passed by, 
he saw Levi, the son of Alpheus, sit- 
ting at the custom house (to nXwviov), 
and said unto him, Follow me. And 
he arose and followed him. And it 
came to pass, that as Jesus sat at 
meat in his house, many publicans 
and sinners sat also together with 
Jesus and his disciples : for there 
were many, and they followed him. 

Mark iv. 1, And, behold, he began 
again to teach them by the sea side ; 
and there was gathered unto him a 
great multitude, so that he entered 
into a ship, and sat in the sea ; and 
the whole multitude was by the sea, 
on the land ; and he taught them 
many things by parables, and said 
unto them in his doctrine, Hearken ; 
behold there went out a sower to sow ; 
and it came to pass as he sowed 
some fell by the way side, &c. 

Mark vi. 45, And straightway he 
constrained his disciples to get into 
the ship, and to go before to the other 
side, over against Bethsaida, while he 
sent away the people. And when he 
had sent them away, he departed in- 
to a mountain to pray. 

Mark iv. 33, And with many such 
parables spake he the word unto them, 
as they were able to hear it. But 
without a parable spake he not unto 
them ; and when they were alone, he 
expounded all things unto his dis- 
ciples. 



Correspondences of this kind abound throughout to such an 
extent, that whoever will take the trouble to collate the two care- 
fully, can probably hardly resist the impression that Mark formed 
his own Gospel mainly from Matthew, with only such variations 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK. 113 

as liis own peculiar characteristics and some additional information 
led him to introduce.* 

External probability is also in favour of Mark's acquaintance 
with Matthew's Gospel. The early churches kept up frequent 
communications with each other. The resort from Rome and Alex- 
andria to Palestine was frequent, and it cannot be doubted that the 
publication of such an interesting life of Christ as Matthew's must 
have excited much attention in the little separate world of the 
Christians. Mark writing soon after Matthew, could not but know 
that such a work existed, and even if it were not in current use at 
Rome or at Alexandria, must have been strangely remiss not to 
have read it. The third evangelist does expressly acknowledge 
his acquaintance with the previously written lives of Christ, and 
all the circumstances and reasons which led him to become ac- 
quainted with them existed also in the case of Mark.f 

Allowing then that both internal and external evidence lead us 
to the conclusion that Mark was acquainted with Matthew's Gospel, 
Mark becomes a kind of tacit commentator on his predecessor ; 
and a more valuable one we could not have. We see how the first 
Gospel was treated by an intimate friend of Peter. 

He evidently had not so reverent a regard for what Matthew had 
written as to prevent him from altering it at his own discretion. 
Variations in the discourses and in the minor accompanying inci- 
dents would not be sufficient to build any important inference upon ; 
but he dismisses without notice some of Matthew's most striking 
facts. 

He omits the miraculous birth and the flight into Egypt ; yet 
begins his work with these words, " The beginning of the Gospel 

* Usura esse Marcuni Matthsei evangelio, apertum facit collatio. Grotius 
ad Marc. I. 1. 

The correspondence of peculiar -words and phrases in both Gospels is an 
irresistible evidence of their connection. Matt. xxiv. 22. Ouk av tatuQr] 
■xaaa aap'i. literally, ' ; there should not be saved all flesh," is allowed to be 
very remarkable Greek. The same occurs -word for word in Mark. For 
more instances of this kind, see Michaelis on the Composition of the first 
three Gospels. 

j- That it -was Mark -who copied from Matthew, and not the converse, is 
veiy amply supported. The Fathers agreed that Mark wrote after Mat- 
thew, and the internal evidence from collation gives a strong impression to 
the same effect. The obscure in Matthew is omitted, explained or softened. 
Both the epitomes and amplifications of Mark have the appearance of being 
based upon the narrative as in Matthew. Some notes on this subject will 
be found in the Appendix. Veiy few commentators have held that Mat- 
thew copied from Mark. 

I 



114 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

of Jesus Christ, the son of God." Concerning the temptation, 
he says only, " The spirit driveth him into the wilderness, and he 
was there forty days tempted of Satan : and was with the wild 
beasts ; and the angels ministered nnto him." 

He omits Peter's casting himself into the sea, Matt. xiv. 28 — 31 ; 
Christ's promise of the keys to Peter, xvi. 20 ; and his direction 
to him to pay the tribute from the fish's mouth, xvii. 24 — 27 ; 
although in the two former cases, at least, he appears to copy the 
context. Chrysostom concluded that Peter must have forbidden 
him to mention these things from modesty ; but there appears no 
backwardness to do honour to Peter in this Gospel. See Mark 
i. 36 ; xiii. 3 ; xvi. 7 ; on which occasions Peter is not named by 
the other evangelists. 

He omits the dream of Pilate's wife, the resurrection of the 
saints, and the earthquake during the crucifixion ; although in each 
case be agrees closely with the context. In consequence of the 
last omission, the 39th verse, ch. xv., becomes somewhat illogical, 
for it thus attributes the centurion's exclamation, " Truly this man 
was the son of God," to Jesus's uttering a cry and expiring ; which 
was not a reason, although the omitted earthquake might be, for 
this conviction in a Roman soldier. 

Why did Mark choose to suppress these things ? Not because 
he disliked the marvellous, for he has admitted abundance of other 
miracles ; nor because he was in haste, for he has lengthened many 
parts of Matthew, and added some things of his own ; moreover, 
one would think that such important miracles deserved a prefer- 
ence. It is difficult to avoid concluding, that he omitted them 
because he did not believe them, and did not expect to be believed 
if he related them. He had heard Peter, and was writing a book 
for the use of those who had heard him also. The other parts of 
Matthew, which he transcribed or epitomized, were probably some- 
what corroborated by Peter's preaching, and by the traditions 
carried to the church at Rome ; but for the passages in question, 
Mark found that the compiler of Palestine had not siifficient 
authority ; that they were not sanctioned by Peter or by any 
traditions of repute ; and from conscientiousness or prudence, he 
determined that his work should not be encumbered with so much 
bold and pure ornamental fiction. 

It is impossible to regard Mark's suppression of these pas 
otherwise than as a tacit condemnation of Matthew. In later 
times, when the means of ascertaining the truth of each story had 
diminished, aud the whole four Gospels came to be believed in 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK. 115 

a mass, as resting upon the same authority, divine inspiration, 
these same questionable passages have been favourite ones with 
Christians , as proving most strikingly the miraculous character of 
Jesus. The slight put upon them by Mark seems therefore to 
proceed from his greater proximity to the time when they were 
written, which gave him better means than others could have of 
judging of their truth. Mark's example, then, warns all readers 
of Matthew, that the latter is not to be implicitly trusted as far as 
regards historical credibility. 

Admitting the possibility that Mark had not seen Matthew, 
(a case shown to be very improbable,) Matthew's credibility is not so 
strongly impugned, but still it is very much weakened by the omis- 
sion of these things in a subsequent history of repute. For if the 
stories of the miraculous birth, resurrection of the saints, earth- 
quake, &c, had been true, or even commonly believed among the 
apostles, Peter would surely have mentioned them sometimes 
during his preaching, and they were peculiarly of a nature to be 
caught up and repeated by the audience. The omission by Mark 
leads then to the inference, that these stories were, in his circle, 
either unknown or disbelieved, and either case is nearly equivalent 
to their being untrue. 

On the other hand, the parts of Matthew which are repeated by 
Mark, acquire thereby some additional evidence in their favour, 
and these parts are, the career of Jesus from his baptism till the 
disappearance of his body after the crucifixion, including many 
miraculous stories probably proceeding from germs of reality. 
But this agreement is far from making up sufficient evidence to 
establish fully the truth of any one particular narration indepen- 
dently of internal evidence, much more of a strictly miraculous 
incident : for Mark was not an eye-witness, but was obliged to 
augment his materials derived from Peter, by borrowing from 
Matthew or elsewhere. He was therefore very liable to repeat 
unintentionally some mere fiction. 

VI. Upon the whole, Mark's Gospel taken by itself gives a less 
intelligible view of Jesus and his designs than the first; and 
owing to his omission of the discourses, and his more remote point 
of view, he would seem to present us with a mere wonderful tale 
of a person pursuing an extraordinary course without evident plan 
or object. But, placed by the side of Josephus and Matthew, it 
not only throws much additional light on the attempt of Jesus to 
assume the Messiahship, but marks one grade in the modifications 
under which his followers subsequently viewed him. No new 



116 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

subjects, however, are introduced : the distress of Jerusalem, and 
the persecutions of the church, are dwelt upon so prominently as 
to show that it was written at a time when these were still the 
most interesting topics. Inferior to the first Gospel in imagina- 
tion and eloquence, there is yet in Mark so much of earnestness 
and simplicity, as to give a very strong reflection of the modes of 
thought in the Christian society of which he was a member. Jesus 
of Nazareth is to most of them personally unknown ; the title, 
Son of God, which it was the duty and pride of the church to 
apply emphatically to him, begins to awaken a degree of mystic 
reverence ; and the believer feels bound to relate every act and 
saying in terms of submissive admiration. Yet, although the 
above title, continually repeated among gentiles, must probably 
acquire some different associations to those which strict Jews would 
allow, it does not appear that Mark had taken the pains to define 
clearly his conception of the designation which he places so con- 
spicuously in front of his Gospel : certainly there are no indications 
that he or his circle were yet in possession of the ideas of the 
logos and its incarnation, which afterwards were made to supply 
such ample meaning to the term.* 



* Credner, Einl. § 56, p. 122, comes to rather a different conclusion re- 
specting the authorship of the second Gospel. " The great correspondence 
in expression between this Gospel and those of Matthew and Luke, shows 
incontrovertibly, even without further evidence, its original composition in 
the Greek language. As far as relates, on the other hand, to the time and 
place of composition, Eusebius appears to be our only authority. He him- 
self however rests his statement on the sayings of Clement of Alexandria 
and Papias. The statement of Clement is opposed with precisely equal 
weight to that of Irenseus, so that there remains to us only the oldest and 
weightiest of all, the testimony of the Presbyter John in Papias. The 
latter tells us certainly, in agreement with the tradition of the church, that 
a follower of Peter, named Mark, had noted down separate evangelic re- 
cords delivered by the Apostle, but the description which is given at the 
same time as these notes, does not correspond with our Gospel of Mark. 
This Gospel therefore in its present form cannot be the work of Marli." 

The supposed disagreement with the description of Papias, is the histo- 
rical order in which the Gospel is drawn up, whereas Papias said that Mark 
wrote " what he remembered, but not in the order (raga) in which things 
were spoken or done by Christ ;" also that "Peter made his discourses not 
in the way of a regular history " (gvvtoX,iv). 

Yet this does not clearly indicate that Papias had in view any other 
composition than our present Gospel of Mark, for he might intend to disap- 
prove merely of its chronological order, and not to deny that it was at- 



THE GOSPEL OP ST. MARK. 117 

tempted to be written in some order. The last sense seems to apply to 
Peter's discourses only. 

But would not Mark himself have written in Latin, since he wrote for 
the church at Eome 1 Possibly he had in view the churches of Alexandria 
and the East also. The traditions had acquired a fixed form in the Greek. 
The latter was the apostolic tongue. If Mark had written in Latin, Papias 
might have been expected to notice it, since he tells us the Xoyia of 
Matthew were written in Hebrew. 






CHAPTEB V. 

ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL OF 
ST. LUKE. 

The prefaces to this Gospel and the Acts show that both proceed 
from the same author, and the earliest traditions agree that he was 
Luke, the companion of Paul, mentioned Col. iv. 14 ; 2 Tim. iv. 
11 ; Phil em. 24. There is some reason for supposing that he was 
the same as Silas.* 

This Gospel, like the others, is not alluded to in any of the 
speeches in the Acts, nor in the Epistles. f 

A.D. 96. Clement of Eome has a passage agreeing exactly 
with Luke xvii. 2 ; but nearly the same sentence is in Mark. 

A. D. 140. Justin Martyr mentions the visit of Gabriel to the 
Virgin Mary, in the words of Luke i. 35 — 38 ; and Christ's 
agony, in the words of Luke xxii. 42 ; both which texts have no 



* The pronoun we first occurs in the narrative of the Acts, at ch. xvi. 10. 
"We endeavoured to go into Macedonia." The only companions of St. 
Paul at this time appear to have been Silas and Timothy. (See xv. 40 ; 
xvi. 3, 4, 6.) In this case either St. Paul, Silas, or Timothy, wrote the 
Acts. 

It was neither Timothy nor Paul himself, ch. xx. 4. " And there ac- 
companied him (Paul) into Asia, Sopater of Berea .... and Timotheus, &c. 
These going before, tarried for us at Troas." 

Also ch. xx. 13, " And we went before to ship, and sailed into Assos, 
there intending to take in Paul." 

Therefore Silas was the writer. Wherever the pronoun we occurs, 
throughout the Acts, there is no objection to supposing that Silas was of 
the company. The name Silas, or Silvanus, has nearly the same meaning 
as Lucas or Lucanus, the one being derived from Silva, a wood, and the 
other from Imcus, a grove ; each being probably merely a Latinized form of 
the author's original Greek or Hebrew name. 

f John the Baptist's preaching is mentioned Acts xiii. 25, and the Lord's 
supper 1 Cor. xi. 23, in words agreeing very nearly withjjjLuke. But neither 
passage is introduced as a quotation ; and it is more likely that Luke should 
have borrowed from Paul, than the converse. 



THE GOSPEL OP ST. LUKE. 119 

parallel one in the other Gospels. He does not mention Luke by 
name, but frequently speaks of the Gospels or memoirs composed 
by the Apostles and their companions, as his authority. 

A.D. 178. Irenaeus is the first who names Luke as the author 
of a Gospel. After speaking of Mark, he says, "And Luke, the 
companion of Paul, put down in a book the Gospel preached by 
him." — " But the Gospel according to Luke being of a priestly 
character, begins with Zacharias the priest offering incense to 
God." — " But if any one rejects Luke, as if he did not know the 
truth, he will be convicted of throwing away the Gospel, of which 
he professeth to be a disciple. For there are many, and those very 
necessary, parts of the Gospel which we know by his means." 

A.D. 194. Clement of Alexandria (according to Eusebius) 
" had a tradition that the Gospels containing the genealogies were 
first written." 

A. D. 230. Origen. " The third Gospel is that according to 
Luke, the Gospel commended by Paul, published for the sake of 
the Gentile converts." 

A. D. 392. Jerome. " The third evangelist is Luke, the phy- 
sician, a Syrian of Antioch, who was a disciple of the apostle 
Paul, and published his Gospel in the countries of Achaia and 
Boeotia." 

A.D. 596. Isidore, of Seville. " Matthew wrote his Gospel 
first in Judea ; then Mark in Italy ; Luke, the third, in Achaia ; 
John, the last, in Asia." 

II. The most prevalent opinion, then, was, that Luke's Gospel 
was written the third in order of time ; which agrees well with 
the internal evidence, for, on comparing the three, there is much 
appearance that Luke made use of both Matthew and Mark. 

In addition to internal evidence and conjecture, which apply to 
the case of Luke as well as that of Mark, he himself gives a 
Preface which assists us in deciding whether he made use of his 
predecessors. " Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set 
forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely 
believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which 
were from the beginning eye-witnesses and ministers of the word ; 
it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all 
things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excel- 
lent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those 
things wherein thou hast been instructed." 

Luke does not in this state precisely the sources of his inform- 
ation, for the phrase, " having had perfect knowledge of all things 



Luke iv. 1. — 12, with 


Matt. iv. 


1—11. 




— iv. 38—44, with Mark 


i. 29—39. 


— v. 12 — 15, with Mark 


i. 40—45, 


and Matt. viii. 1 — 4. 




— v. 18 — 38, with Mark 


ii. 3 — 22, 


and Matt ix. 2 — 8. 





120 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

from the very first," is a vague one. His words certainly do not 
imply that he borrowed from some of the many who went before 
him ; but neither do they disclaim it so distinctly as to set aside 
the interval evidence of his having done so. Matthew and Mark 
are the only Gospels extant which could have been amongst the 
many alluded to ;* and it seems very evident, on examination, that 
Luke drew largely from both, and especially from Mark. Com- 
pare 

Luke vi. 1—11, with Mark ii. 23— 
iii. 6. 

— viii. 26—39, with Mark v. 1—20. 

— ix. 23 — 36, with Mark viii. 34; 
ix. 10. 

— xxii. 7 — 13, with Mark xiv. 12 — 
16. 

When his two predecessors have the same story, Luke gene- 
rally seems to prefer transcribing from Mark, but occasionally 
supplies an expression from Matthew : Luke xx. 8 — 47, Mark xi. 
33, xii. 40, compared with Matt. xxi. 27 ; xxii. 46. Here, where 
Mark omits, Luke omits also, but verse 18 he seems to have sup- 
plied from Matthew. See also Luke xx. 45 — 47, agreeing closely 
with Mark xii. 38 — 40, whilst Matthew xxiii. 5 — 14 is much 
longer; Luke xviii. 15, compared with Mark x. 13, and Matt. 
xix. 13. 

Luke is, however, by no means so much dependent on his two 
predecessors as Mark is upon Matthew. He has a great many 
stories and parables not found in the other two ; it therefore seems 
likely that he took these from some of the other writings which 
he alludes to, now lost, or that he selected them from the current 
traditions. Also he might have learned some things himself from 
the original eye-witnesses ; but as he does not say which these are, 
it is impossible to discover what parts of his Gospel have this 
superior authority. 



* Origen argued that Luke could not intend to include Matthew and 
Mark amongst the many, because they did not " take in hand (£7r£vap»/(rav) 
to write," but wrote. Most Christian writers have been anxious to prove 
the same point, but apparently without any better argument. (See Lard- 
ner, vol. v. p. 383.) Others have contended that the term does not imply 
disrespect. Its use by Luke, Acts ix. 29 ; xix. 13, is unfavourable rather 
than otherwise to this assertion. His tone is certainly devoid of that 
respectful submission with which Matthew and Mark have subsequently 
been regarded. 









THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 121 

III. The kind and degree of connection between the first three 
Gospels are not very easy to explain satisfactorily ; for whilst 
many long passages agree so closely as to imply almost literal 
transcribing, others, partially agreeing, contain variations incon- 
sistent with the idea that one evangelist had the works of the 
others before him.* The hypothesis of a common document, from 
which they all drew materials, has been generally given up, both 
from the want of evidence of its existence, and from its insuffi- 
ciency to supply the explanation wanted. f The hypothesis of 
their repeating the same oral or written fragments could not of 

* Credner says, " Many have adopted the view that the relationship of 
the three evangelists is altogether inexplicable ; nay, many have considered 
this inexplicability as a work of Providence. Others have contented them- 
selves with pointing out the unsatisfactory nature of the attempts at expla- 
nation hitherto made. De Wette, on the contrary, candidly acknowledges 
in the preface to the first edition of his Einleitung, that he has not satisfied 
himself in the researches on the formation of the three first Gospels." — 
Einleitung, § 73. 

f In order to account for the agreements between the first three Gospels, 
Eichhorn and Bishop Marsh maintained that there must have been an 
original Aramaic document which was the common source of them all. 
But there appears to be no historical evidence of the existence of such a 
document. The translator of Schleiermacher's Critical Essay on Luke says, 
" The German critic's ingenious and specious investigation of this supposed 
document, and the tempting facilities it offered for the solution of the 
problem, seemed to have dazzled the judgment of his followers, and to have 
prevented him from scrutinizing the groundwork of his whole fabric with 
his usual vigilance. In the dissertation itself, the probability of such a 
document having ever existed is not thought deserving of any discussion." — ■ 
Translator's Introduction, p. 25. Yet, not to insist upon this point, the 
difficulties of explaining the agreements on Eichhorn's hypothesis were 
found to be so great, that in a later work he published an improved form of 
it, viz. that four different copies of the supposed Aramaic original must 
have formed the basis of the three Gospels. 

Schleiermacher himself says, "Without assenting to all the arguments 
which Hug opposes to Eichhorn's hypothesis of an original Gospel, I think 
he has, upon the whole, succeeded in making the thing improbable in the 
eyes of all unprejudiced persons." — Introd., p. 2. " For my part it is quite 
enough to prevent me from receiving Eichhorn's theory, that I am to figure 
to myself our evangelists surrounded by five or six open rolls or books, and 
that too in different languages, looking by turns from one into another, and 
writing a compilation from them. I fancy myself in a German study of 
the eighteenth or nineteenth century, rather than in the primitive age of 
Christianity." — Ibid. p. 6. 

De Wette concludes his remarks on the supposed document thus : " These 
and other arguments have lately become so apparent to most persons, that 
one can now only wonder how this hypothesis could once have found ac- 
ceptance with so many."— Lehrbuch, § 85. 



122 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

itself account for the many long and remarkable agreements ; for 
Luke, even more than Mark, has many instances which show how 
much tradition was capable of modifying the narration of the same 
incident. And, on the other hand, it would be unsafe to infer 
copying wherever a remarkable agreement occurs, because a repe- 
tition of the same fragments might occasion such agreements to a 
great extent. 

Luke doubtless, as well as Mark, had been in the habit of 
hearing the fragments of sayings and stories related so often in 
the Christian churches, and probably of repeating them himself, 
that he could, without referring to any previous history, have 
written a very copious Gospel ; and as he lived at the same time 
as the other two, had been in company with the same Apostles as 
they, and frequented the same churches, he would have in many 
cases the same version of a story. And if we allow that one or 
both of them preceded him by several years, the very circumstance 
of the existence of a written Gospel would tend to give a more 
fixed character to such versions. Luke might therefore have 
much agreeing matter influenced by the two former, although not 
borrowed directly by himself. But in some cases, when his 
memory failed, or he found that those two had things with which 
he was imperfectly acquainted, he would naturally abridge, para- 
phrase, or even transcribe at length, from them. 

These combined considerations account very well for the rela- 
tionship of Luke to his two predecessors, although no separate 
one would do so entirely. Thus : 

1. A large portion of his Gospel is in addition to those of the 
other two ; being things which his greater industry or more ex- 
tensive acquaintance in the churches supplied him with. 

2. Part consists of the same incidents, but narrated in a very 
different form, and which Luke probably preferred to that adopted 

Mill says, " That Luke's Gospel was published after those of Matthew 
and Mark, appears, on the comparison of the three, clearer than light. For 
nothing is plainer than that Luke borrowed the very phrases and expres- 
sions of Matthew and Mark, nay, whole paragraphs word for word". — Mill 
Proleg., p. 116. 

Wetstein says, " That Luke took many things from Matthew, and more 
from Mark, appears on collating them." — De Luca, ap. T. Gr. torn. i. 
p. 643. 

Michaelis says, " It is wholly impossible that three historians, who have 
no connection, either mediate or immediate, with each other, should harmo- 
nize as Matthew, Mark, and Luke do." — Origin of the first three Gospel 
ch. i. 



mo- 
lds, 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 123 

by his predecessors. His story of the woman with the alabaster 
box of ointment, vii. 36, is very different from that in the other 
two, although the points of agreement show that the same fact 
forms the foundation of all the three stories. His genealogy and 
history of Christ before his baptism contradict Matthew. His 
parable of the talents differs widely from that in Matthew, Also 
that of the wedding-supper. The call of Simon and the sons of 
Zebedee he accompanies with the miraculous draught of fishes. 
The denial by Peter is related very differently. This wide dif- 
ference of narration is important, because it shows that the Gospels 
of Matthew and Mark, although doubtless much esteemed at that 
time, were not considered by Luke as in all cases the best autho- 
rities. 

3. In some cases he seems to give nearly the same oral frag- 
ments or traditions, although without borrowing from the other 
two ; the slight variations being such as might arise in different 
verbal repetitions of the fragment, but unnatural to a copier. 
See the catalogue of the Apostles, vi. 14 — 16, in which there is 
some inversion of the order, and some variation in the names ; 
he adds also a prayer the night before. 

The accusation respecting Beelzebub, xi. 14 — 23, agrees with 
Matthew and Mark to such an extent that it might have been de- 
rived from the same often-repeated tradition ; but the omission of 
some striking verses of those two, and the difference in the simili- 
tude of the strong man, are against the idea that Luke was in this 
case copying. 

The reference to Jonas, xi. 29, resembles Matthew's in great 
part, but Luke has "the people" instead of "the Scribes and 
Pharisees," and inverts the order of the following references to 
" the queen of the South" and " the men of Nineveh ; " all which 
discrepancies are unnatural to one copying from Matthew. 

The discourse, xii. 1 — 9, beginning " there is nothing covered, 
&c," agrees closely with part of the charge to the Apostles, 
Matt. x. But the separation from the context, and the variation 
of " five sparrows for two farthings," instead of " two sparrows for 
a farthing " in Matthew, which would be frivolous if designed, are 
against the idea of copying. 

The discourse on sending fire on the earth, xii. 49 — 53, is 
evidently the same as Matthew x. 34 — 37. " I am not come to 
send peace but a sword ; " but this, and the list of the contending 
kindred, are so much varied as to show that Luke is giving an 
independent version of the same fragment. 



124 OK THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

The woes upon Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, x. 13 — 15, 
agree closely with Matt. xi. 21 — 23 ; but would one copying have 
omitted Matthew's eloquent conclusion " for if the mighty works, 
&c." in order to substitute the much less appropriate verse " he 
that heareth you, &c." ? 

The feeding of the 5000, Luke ix. 10 — 17, much resembles the 
account of both Matthew and Mark ; but not so as to leave the 
impression that he copied directly. He adds that the desert place 
was near Bethsaida ; he says that they sat down in fifties, instead 
of hundreds and fifties, as in Mark ; besides minor variations. 

In the transfiguration, Luke says, " after about eight days," 
instead of six days ; an unnatural variation if he had the others 
before him. He differs from both, more than Mark does from 
Matthew. The " being heavy with sleep" is additional. 

4. All these last instances of general agreement with partial 
variation, might also be explained by supposing that Luke had 
heard or read his predecessor's accounts so as to have them par- 
tially infixed in his memory, but that he did not refer to them 
when writing. This is perhaps a better explanation of the 
following : 

The story of the blind man near Jericho, xviii. 35 — 43, agrees 
very nearly with Mark ; but he places it as Jesus was coming to 
Jericho, instead of going from it ; a difference which might easily 
glide into a recollection of Mark's verse 46, which is more con- 
fused than Matthew's 29.* 

The prediction of sufferings, ix. 22 — 27, excepting the omission 
of Peter's rebuke, agrees partly with Matthew, and partly with 
Mark ; with neither so continuously as if he had them before him. 
It is more likely that he had heard both their narratives, and 
mingled them with his own from memory. 



* This is as palpable an instance of oversight or discrepancy as could 
well be selected, and it has given much trouble to the advocates of divine 
inspiration, Augustine said there must have been two similar miracles. 
" Nihil alrad restat intelligere, nisi bis esse factum hoc miraculum." — 
Quest. Evan., 1. ii. qu. 48, 1. Origen confessed that the attempt to recon- 
cile the inconsistencies of the evangelists made him giddy. Comment, in 
Johan., t. ii. p. 151. Edit. Huet. 

Grotius endeavours to reconcile the evangelists by torturing the word 
tyyiZtiv. He says, besides its usual sense, to draw near to a place, it might 
mean merely to be not far from it. But that the former is the sense of 
Luke in this place is shown by xix. 1, "and Jesus entered, and passed 
through Jericho." i, e. immediately after the cure. 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 125 

The account of the last supper, xxii. 14 — 20, contains the 
substance and most of the expressions of Matthew and Mark, so 
as to appear to be borrowed from them by recollection. But the 
transposition of the bread and wine, and Luke's verse 19 near the 
end, being the same as Mark's beginning, indicate that he had not 
those two before him when he wrote. 

5. Some parts of Luke appear to be mere paraphrases or abridg- 
ments of Matthew and Mark. 

The story of the mother and brethren of Jesus, viii. 19 — 21, 
is a good abbreviation of the accounts in both Matthew and Mark, 
which are harsh and tautological. 

In relating the capture of Jesus, xxii. 47 — 58, Luke begins as 
if following Matthew and Mark, but the rest might be an abridg- 
ment or free paraphrase. 

6. But in other cases, the agreement is so close and continuous 
as to give the impression that he had his predecessors before him, 
and referred to them whilst writing. See the stories of the little 
children, xviii. 15, 16; the rich young man, and promise to the 
disciples, xviii. 18 — 30 ; the entry into Jerusalem, xix. 29 — 38 ; 
the authority of John, xx. 2 — 8 ; the parable of the husbandmen, 
xx. 9 — 18 ; preparing the passover, xxii. 7 — 13. 

In the expressions in each story, Luke generally agrees much 
more closely with Mark than with Matthew ; and the same is the 
case with respect to his order. In the first six chapters of Mark, 
where his arrangement contrasts so strangely with Matthew's, 
Luke agrees with the former with respect to twenty-eight events 
or sayings, there being only five dislocations, besides additions and 
omissions. From thence to Mark x. 13, Luke's order presents no 
conceivable relation to that of the other two ; but subsequently it 
agrees with them both, still however more closely with Mark, to 
the crucifixion. The agreements in order are long enough to form 
another strong argument that Luke was acquainted with one or 
both of his predecessors. 

Since it appears that Luke borrowed from the Gospels of 
Matthew and Mark, we must suppose that he also borrowed from 
some others of the many Gospels written previously to his own. 
"We learn from Jerome that a story of the appearance of Jesus, 
apparently the same as that in Luke xxiv. 36 — 43, was in the 
Gospel according to the Hebrews. 

If a person were now to sit down to write a Gospel, the most 
full and copious possible, he would blend the stories in the four 
already written, with all that he could collect elsewhere. From 



126 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 



having frequently heard those already existing, he might write 
much from memory, but sometimes would refer to them in order 
extract or abridge. Thus there would result a composition agreeing 
partially with each one of the four Gospels, but with no one of 
them throughout ; having some very close agreement as to matter, 
expression, and order, and some striking disagreement : that is, 
presenting the same kind of phenomena that Luke does with 
respect to Matthew and Mark, although in his case they are more 
marked, because he had a much larger proportion of additional 
materials, and also because in his time Matthew and Mark do not 
appear to have been regarded with that submissive deference which 
is now paid to the four Gospels.* 

IV. Some have been of opinion that Matthew and Luke wrote 
first, and that it was Mark who copied from them both.f The 
external evidence of Luke's priority is not sufficiently decided to 
settle the point ; and the internal evidence consists chiefly in the 
impression left by collating the three. Firstly, The additions in 
Mark's peculiar style of futile amplification and tautology have 
had apparently some influence on Luke's narratives, where traces 
of them are found ; but he himself would not probably have 
originated them, being in general a writer of force and good taste. 



* These remarks on the Gospels are the result of the writer's own study 
of them ; but the subject is more amply worked out in Credner's Ein- 
leitung, § 74 — 92. His conclusions I gather to be these : Oral traditions 
of the acts and sayings of Jesus formed the only Gospel till after the fall of 
Jerusalem. These traditions were at first in Hebrew, and soon translated 
into Greek. Owing to the reverence of the church for the subject matter, 
and the poverty of the Greek idiom known to the lower Jews, these tradi- 
tions came to have a kind of fixed form. These were repeated as occasion 
required, without regard to chronological order. But gradually as the eye- 
witnesses disappeared one after another, variations crept in as to names of 
persons, places, &c, and the tradition approximated more and more to the 
character of a legend. The Apostle Matthew had compiled the \oyia in 
Hebrew at an early period. Some Palestinian Jew made these the founda- 
tion of a Gospel, calling to his aid the writings of Mark in their original 
form, and the existing oral tradition. Some other person made the notices 
set down by Mark, Peter's companion, the groundwork of a second Gospel, 
and this recomposition was the occasion of the early disuse and disappear- 
ance of the original notices written by Mark himself. Luke made use of 
the \oyi« of Matthew and the original notices of Mark, and possibly also of 
our two canonical Gospels ; also of the existing oral traditions. 

f For the order of Matthew, Mark, Luke — Grotius, Mill, Wetstein, Hug, 
Semler, Townson, Seiler. 

Matthew, Luke, Mark— De Wette, Griesbach, Theile, Fritsche, Sieffert. 



:te 

to 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 127 

For instance : Luke iv. 38, 40 ; v. 17, 29, 30, 35. Secondly, 
Luke, in other places, expresses Mark's additions in a simplified 
or more forcible manner, which has the appearance of an ulterior 
edition: iv. 15, 31, 33, 37, 39; v. 26; vi. 6—11. Thirdly, 
Although he sometimes retrenches what is superfluous, (Mark ii. 
19,) or of strange sound in Mark, (ii. 13 ; iii. 5,) he has frequently 
additions of his own which further enhance the story. Luke iv. 
40, 41 ; v. 28 ; xxii. 50. Fourthly, Luke has nearly all that 
Mark has in addition to Matthew, and much more besides. 

Now if Mark had been following Luke, it is difficult to explain 
why he should have preferred him to Matthew with respect to the 
narrative of particular stories, and yet omit by far the greater part 
of the stories which Luke has in addition. The parts of Matthew 
omitted by Mark are chiefly the long discourses, (and these are 
generally epitomized,) or some of the more obviously legendary 
parts. But the parts of Luke not found in Mark consist in great 
part of narratives as probable and parables as interesting as any 
in the Gospels. 

V. From as large a collection of materials as he could obtain, 
it appears that Luke intended to write in order a history of Jesus 
from the first, but that he soon found the task too difficult with 
respect to the order ; for, after the first few chapters, his narrative 
becomes so jumbled and confused, that the reader can form no clear 
idea of the course of events. It has the appearance of a mass of 
anecdotes and sayings, put down as they came to the author's 
notice, with very little regard to time or place, instead of a regular 
narrative, like Matthew's. Nearly the whole of Matthew and 
Mark may be traced in different parts of Luke, but much cut up 
and displaced. It seems probable that he endeavoured to accom- 
modate as large a portion as he could of those two to his other 
materials ; but finding that some sayings and facts were thus left 
out, in his anxiety to make his Gospel complete, he inserted the 
fragments where he could. (See Luke xvi. 16 — 18 ; xvii. 1 — 10; 
xi. 34 — 36 ; xiv. 34, 35.) That his order, rather than Matthew's, 
is generally erroneous, is shown by the inappropriateness of the 
context, and his want of clearness as to time and place ; for 
instance : — 

Luke xii. 54. The reference to the sign of the times is here 
made abruptly, and to the people, who consequently seem to be 
called hypocrites without occasion. But in Matthew xvi. 2, it 
is in answer to the Pharisees who had been asking a sign from 
heaven. 



128 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

Luke xxii. 30. The promise of twelve thrones is put in a speech 
rebuking the disciples' desire of greatness, at the last supper. 
But in Matthew xix. 28, it is in answer to Peter's inquiry, " what 
shall we have ? " on the approach to Jerusalem. 

Luke xi. 37. The woes against the Pharisees are here repre- 
sented as spoken by Jesus at the house of a Pharisee who had 
invited him to dinner. But in Matthew xxiii. they are part of a 
discourse to the people. 

Luke ix. 51. " He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem." 
x. 38. " It came to pass as they went, that he entered into a cer- 
tain village : and a certain woman named Martha received him 
into her house." This must have been at Bethany, near Jerusalem, 
since Martha's house was there. Yet Luke seems afterwards to 
have forgotten or to be ignorant that he had brought Jesus so near 
to Jerusalem, for at ch. xiii. 31, he represents him as still in 
Herod's jurisdiction, i. e. in Galilee: and at ch. xvii. 11, he says, 
"And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed 
through the midst of Samaria and Galilee." This shows not only 
the incorrectness of Luke's order of events, but that he attended 
very little to the locality of the scenes which he was describing. 

The attempt to preserve the order of the narrative appears to be 
continued to the end of ch. x ; for so far, one incident is generally 
connected with the preceding by some remark indicating the 
interval of time : vi. 1, " and it came to pass on the second sab- 
bath after the first ;" 13, "and when it was day;" vii. 1, 11 ; viii. 
1; ix. 1, 28, 37, 57; x. 1, 21, 38. But from the beginning of 
ch. xi. the notices of this kind are less clear and frequent : the 
reader has no means of judging when and where the events hap- 
pen, further than that they are in a certain place, in a certain 
village, in the house of a certain Pharisee, &c. On arriving at 
that part of his work, Luke seems to have grown tired, or to have 
discovered the impossibility of the task he had undertaken to set 
forth his materials in order, and to have been satisfied to dispose 
of the rest in the form of miscellaneous memoirs, until he comes 
to the arrival at Jericho, ch. ix. 

In some places acts and sayings of Jesus are thrown in with no 
kind of connexion with the context, or they are appended to some 
discourse with which the occurrence of some one similar word or 
idea forms a kind of associating link ; which might be the only 
"order" in some cases to which Luke could attain. See for in- 
stance, Luke vii. 36. The story of eating with the Pharisee, and 
of the visit of the sinful woman, appear to be placed here, because 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHK. 129 

ver. 34 contains the saying, " lie came eating and drinking with 
publicans and sinners." xi. 8-4, " The light of the body is the 
eye, &c," has no connexion here, except that the preceding verse 
has the allusion to the candle under a bushel, xi. 37, Jesus is 
invited to dine with a Pharisee : thence Luke passes on by asso- 
ciation to the woes upon the Pharisees, ver. 42 ; thence to the 
woes for the slaughter of the prophets, ver. 47 ; thence to the 
laying wait of the Scribes and Pharisees to catch something out 
of his mouth, ver. 53, 54 — placed by Matthew much better after 
the arrival at Jerusalem, xii. 9, " He that denieth me before men 
shall be denied before the angels of God:" to this he adds the 
kindred saying, " whosoever shall speak a word against the Son 
of Man, it shall be forgiven him," a juxtaposition which occasions 
an apparent contradiction ; whereas Matthew had placed the latter 
saying very well after the accusation concerning Beelzebub. Again, 
as this last saying contained an allusion to the Holy Ghost, Luke 
adds immediately, ver. 11, the advice not to premeditate discourses, 
" for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye 
shall say;" which Matthew again had placed much more suitably 
in the charge to the Apostles, Matt. x. 19. xiii. 33, " It cannot 
be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem," is placed by Luke very 
suitably on the determination to proceed thither ; but it recalls to 
him the woes for killing the prophets, and the end of that dis- 
course, viz. the lamentation over Jerusalem, which he therefore 
adds here, much less appropriately than where Matthew places it. 
xvi. 13, "No servant can serve two masters;" introduced appa- 
rently for no other reason than that Mammon had been mentioned 
previously. 

The very abruptness with which the sayings are frequently given 
by Luke, and the absence of introductory narrative, such as Mat- 
thew usually gives, together with the almost unintelligible form 
and connexion in which the sayings are sometimes presented, xii. 
49, xvi. 9 — 12, xxii. 38 ; are indications of Luke's fidelity in 
giving his materials as he found them existing. Probably in some 
instances, he himself knew not what meaning ought to be attached 
to what he was reporting. The original occasion being lost sight 
of, and some words changed or lost during the progress of tra- 
dition, the church repeated with reverence a distorted and mysterious 
fragment, of which the enigmatical character might appear the 
better to entitle it to preservation. 

Another indication of Luke's fidelity is, that in recording the 
sayings of Jesus or the traditions of such sayings, he confines 
j 



130 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

himself to fragments and parables, without expanding into long 
discourses suitable to his own position and time, such as we find 
in Matthew and John. It is true that there are in Luke, portions 
of the discourses relative to the persecutions of the church and 
the fall of Jerusalem, but it appears most probable that he 
borrowed, either by recollection or transcribing, from Matthew or 
Mark. A companion of Paul, if more a controversialist than a 
compiler, might have put into the mouth of Jesus very copious 
and decided discourses respecting the abrogation of the Jewish 
law, and the union of Jews and Gentiles by faith alone in the 
Messiah. But on these subjects Luke has very little in addition 
to what we find in the others. The destruction of Jerusalem is 
introduced by Luke with these additional particulars ; — " they 
shall be led away captive into all nations : and Jerusalem shall be 
trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be 
fulfilled." This implies that Jerusalem had already been trodden 
down for some time when Luke wrote. Matthew, we have seen, 
does not carry on his description to what took place after the 
siege, but prophesies that "immediately after those days shall the 
sun be darkened, and the sign of the Son of Man appear in 
heaven," &c. Luke repeats the substance of this popular pro- 
phecy, to which Matthew had probably contributed to give a fixed 
form, but as if he had seen that the sign did not come immediately 
after the siege, he avoids the word tvQewg, " immediately," and 
retains only the second term of the prophecy's fulfilment : " this 
generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled." This confirms 
strongly the opinion that Luke wrote some years at least later 
than Matthew. 

VI. In his preface, Luke seems to betray some consciousness of 
superiority over those who had " taken in hand " to write before 
him. He comes before the noble Theophilus with the same digni- 
fied freedom as his friend Paul before Festus and Agrippa ; and 
his work may be thought to justify some degree of self-complacency. 
It is allowed by the learned to be written in better Greek than any 
of the other Gospels ; the style is more simple and clear, and his 
energetic conciseness and ease of expression contrast especially 
with the laboured and childish style of Mark. If the large amount 
of his materials indicates industry, the character of them betokens 
also no low degree of literary taste. The fictions which he adopts 
have generally more of poetical interest, and less of mere rude 
marvellousness, than those of Matthew. The visit of Gabriel to 
Zacharias, and afterwards to Mary, the scenes at the temple, the 



wie 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 131 

appearance of the angels to the shepherds, of Jesus to the two 
disciples at Enimaus, seem to proceed from a more refined imagi- 
nation, as well as a more practised pen, than the tales of Joseph 
and the angel, Herod and the Magi. The parables also which he 
adds, the lost sheep, the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, 
Lazarus and Dives, &c, are equal in point and interest to any in 
the Gospels. No collection perhaps exists which can give so high 
an idea of the power which must have belonged to one excelling 
in this favourite method of Eastern teaching. 

The tone of the morality in Luke, however, has not perhaps the 
same comparative superiority. In him, more than in the others, 
appear the overstrained devotion, the asceticism, and the incipient 
monachism of the Therapeuta?. Poverty and distress are repre- 
sented as giving a claim to compensation in heaven, in such terms 
that the merit even of voluntary privation and penance might very 
naturally be inferred from them. vi. 20 — 26 : xvi. 19 — 31. The 
corresponding beatitudes in Matthew do not admit of this turn. 
The high notion which Luke entertained of the merit and efficacy 
of prayer, reminds one more of an Egyptian or Syrian anchorite, 
than of the liberal and intellectual devotion of Socrates and Plato. 
Retirement into the wilderness to pray ; prayer to God for a whole 
night ; — are introduced in all convenient intervals of narration, as 
if with an anxiety to show that this was the favourite and habitual 
exercise of Jesus, v. 16 ; vi. 12 ; ix. 18 ; xi. 1 ; and in two in- 
stances the doctrine of the efficacy of prayer is actually carried to 
the extent, that importunity, if persevering enough, will at last 
undoubtedly move heaven, xi. 8 ; xviii. 5. 

Since each evangelist imparts somewhat of his own principles 
or feelings to his chief personage, Jesus appears in this Gospel to 
partake not a little of the character of a leader, seeking to acquire 
the reverence of his followers by an ostentatious disparagement of 
worldly enjoyments and the practice of unwonted sanctity. The 
piety of the Essenes generally tended to this extreme ; but nowhere 
so much as in Luke does it appear exaggerated to a form at vari- 
ance with the ordinary feelings and necessities of mankind. 

The doctrine of forgiveness upon repentance is urged by Luke 
in such a manner as to countenance rather than guard against the 
dangerous exaggeration that the repentant sinner is in a more 
desirable condition than the just man who needs no repentance. 
The parable of the lost sheep teaches this in express terms, xv. 7. 
And in the pleasing parable which follows, the encouragement 
given to the virtuous elder brother seems in reality too limited in 



1 82 ON THE PATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

comparison with the festive welcome of the prodigal, whose 
repentance arose merely from distress, and as yet had not proved 
its sincerity by reformation. The grovelling humility of the pub- 
lican, unaccompanied, as far as the story shows, by any change of 
conduct, leaves us in doubt whether to prefer it to the conceited 
righteousness of the Pharisee. This apparent estimation of 
repentance without regard to its fruits, is another indication of 
Luke's sympathy with those Eastern sects who considered abase- 
ment of the human being, both in body and mind, the best 
preparative for the favour of heaven. 

The apparent object of Jesus is in this Gospel also, the prepa- 
ration for the kingdom of God ; and some of the additional 
historical relics which it preserves, bear strong indications of the 
political views which were included in the idea. xix. 11 — 27 ; 
xxiii. 2. But upon the whole, Jesus does not appear so exclu- 
sively the Jewish Messiah as in Matthew ; the more harsh texts 
in Matthew x. 5, 6 ; xv. 24, appearing to limit his mission to Jews 
only, are not found in Luke ; and he represents Jesus (as might 
be expected from the companion of the Apostle to the Gentiles,) 
as the king indeed who was to reign over the house of Jacob, but 
whose salvation should extend to all people. 

Among minor peculiarities, the frequent use of the appellation 
"the Lord," as applied to Jesus, is another indication of greater 
remoteness of time and place than in Matthew. The latter, as 
well as Mark, preserves generally the simple designation of Jesus, 
by which, with the addition of the name of his father or town, he 
was probably known in his lifetime. His disciples added, " the 
Master," "Jesus the Christ," "the Lord Jesus;" but "the Lord" 
simply (6 Kvpiog) is a further gradation, since it is the term applied 
in the Septuagint to God. Yet in Luke it cannot be taken to be 
more than a term of indefinitely exalted reverence, for there are 
no other indications that he, any more than his two predecessors, 
had arrived at the notion of making Jesus participate in the attri- 
butes of Jehovah. 

VII. Upon the whole, the chief merit of Luke is that he was 
an industrious compiler : he made a large collection of stories con- 
cerning Christ, from what he had heard or found written, and put 
them into good Greek for the use of Theophilus. But such a 
work, however well-written and interesting, does not add much to 
the evidence for the facts themselves; less indeed than Mark's ; 
for he was a follower of Peter, an eye-witness ; whilst Luke only 
accompanied Paul, who himself must have learned what he knew 
of the history of Jesus from the original eye-witnesses, and per- 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. I.fKK. 133 

haps partly from hearsay. Moreover, Luke does not say that he 
himself learned his facts from eye-witnesses, which he probably 
would have done if he could; since that, at least, was necessary to 
set his pretensions on a level with those of the writers before him. 
His assertion that "he had perfect understanding of all things 
from the first," he must be aware, would procure to his work less 
authority than if he could have said that he had his information 
from Peter, or Andrew, or James. But since it appears that he 
borrowed chiefly from previous writings,* or adopted existing tra- 
ditions, the phrase was as recommendatory an one as could be 
adopted consistently with truth. 

VIII. The book of the Acts is a more orderly narrative, and in 
this the talent of Luke as a clear and forcible narrator seems to have 
more free play. In the first part many chasms and abrupt transi- 
tions occur, similar to those in his Gospel ; but when the writer 
comes to his own times, and the transactions in which he bore a 
part, he becomes clear and precise as to time and place. More- 
over, in this latter part, the narrative contains a lesser proportion 
of miracles, and those mostly such as might easily lie resolved into 
ordinary events miraculized by the imagination.! The style of 
the narrative shows that the writer was a zealous adherent of the 
church, a believer in its miraculous pretensions, and therefore not 
disposed to examine very rigidly stories favourable to the Christian 
cause. In this book, he falls into the style of Josephus, Herodotus, 
and most ancient historians, in embellishing his story with suit- 
able speeches. The reverence with which the sayings of Jesus were 
recorded, probably restrained Luke to the mere reporting of such 
fragments as he could collect, or nearly so ; but in the Acts, he 
introduces numerous formal speeches. Amongst others, one of 
Gamaliel bears strong evidence of being Luke's own composition, 
since it is impossible that a doctor of the lawj, in the year A.D. 31 or 

* Schleieraiacher, although he does not admit that Luke copied from 
Matthew and Mark, says of him, "He is, from beginning to end, no more 
than the compiler and arranger of documents which he found in existence."' 
— Crit. Essay, p. 313. 

f In the last thirteen chapters of the Acts, the miracles recorded are the 
vision of the man of Macedonia ; the casting out of the spirit of divination ; 
the earthquake of Philippi ; Paul's cures at Ephesus : the revival of Euty- 
chus ; the prophecy of Agabus ; Paul's prediction of the storm ; the viper 
at Melita ; the cure of Publius's father and others. 

% Lodovicus Capellus places the speech of Gamaliel at the beginning of 
Caligula's reign (viz. A.D. 37); Whitby, and others, in the twentieth 
of Tiberius (A. D. 31). The history itself purports that it was not long after 
Christ's death. 



134 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

37, could say that Theudas rose up before his days, when, according 
to Josephus,* Theudas did not rise up till the procuratorship of 
Cuspius Fadus, or not before A.D. 44 ; although it was very natural 
that Luke, an inhabitant of Antioch, writing in the year A.D. 71 
or 72, should forget the dates of some of the Judean insurrections, 
and attribute such a speech to Gamaliel for want of knowing what 
was said; for, according to his account, the council was a secret 
one.f 



Thus it appears that the first three Gospels were written at a 
considerable distance of time from the transactions recorded ; that 
it is not improbable, although not certain, that there may be some 
parts which the writers learned direct from the apostles or other 
eye-witnesses ; but that it is uncertain which these parts are, and 
that there is reason to believe that they are largely mingled with 
second-hand narrations, hearsay, and traditions which had passed 
through several stages. 

The many agreements between the three are not in general of 
that kind which proceeds from several independent eye-witnesses 
narrating the same fact, because they borrowed from each other, 
or repeated the same current traditions. 

Le Clerc, indeed, said, " They seem to think more justly, who 
say that the first three evangelists were unacquainted with each 
other's design. In that way greater weight accrues to their testi- 
mony. When witnesses agree who have first laid their heads 
together, they are suspected." And Lardner adds, " I have all my 
days read and admired the first three evangelists as independent 
witnesses ; and I know not how to forbear ranking the other 

* "Whilst Fadus was procurator of Judea, a certain impostor, called 
Theudas, persuaded a very great multitude, taking their effects with them, 
to follow him to the river Jordan ; for he said he was a prophet, and that, 
causing the river to divide, he would give them a passage. By these 
speeches he deceived many, but Fadus sent out a troop of horse, who slew 
many, and took many prisoners. They cut off the head of Theudas, and 
brought it to Jerusalem. These things happened in Judea, while Cuspius 
Fadus was procurator." — Jos. Ant. xx. cap. 5, 1. Fadus was sent as pro- 
curator after the death of Herod Agrippa. A. D. 44. 

f The best vindication that Lardner can find for Luke is, that there must 
have been two Theudases, and that Josephus must have omitted the first 
(vol. i. p. 425). But it is not likely that so minute an historian should have 
omitted any notable attempt at insurrection ; and the speech implies that 
it was so, by classing it with that of Judas of G alilee (A. D. 6 or 7). The 
very grossness of Luke's blunder, in placing Theudas before Judas, that is, 
about forty years wrong, has been used as an argument that he could not 



THE GOSPEL OP ST. LUKE. 135 

opinion among those bold as well as groundless assertions,* in 
which critics too often indulge themselves, without considering the 
consequences." Nevertheless, if it be allowed that the assertion 
has been shown to be well grounded, the consequences, whatever 
they be, must be admitted. 

To ascertain precisely the degree in which each evangelist was 
indebted to his predecessors, or to the same fixed traditions, is 
interesting, but not of the first importance ; because in either case 
the value of the agreement in establishing the credibility of the 
narrative is very much diminished. 

It is undeniable that the repetition of Matthew's statements, by 
writers so near to him in time, and who had access to some of the 
original eye-witnesses, does, in some measure, confirm those state- 
ments ; and the more so, as Mark and Luke appear to have 
exercised some discretion in the selection. Therefore, there is a 
strong probability that the accordant portions of these three his- 
tories contain a tolerably correct outline of the chief events of 
Christ's life ; but some errors and embellishments might also find 
their way into all three by the same channels, viz. the mistakes or 
inventions of the first writer, or the traditions on which they all 
depended. In the case of miracles in particular, it is to be con- 
sidered whether the same motives which led the first evangelist to 
exaggerate or to receive exaggerations, might not have led men 
circumstanced so similarly to himself as Mark and Luke were, to 
repeat a part of his statements. They have shaken Matthew's 
general credibility by rejecting some of his most prominent 
miracles ; and it may be questioned whether their own position, as 
men of the same views and feelings, and defenders of the same 
cause, enables them to add from their own credibility what they 
have taken from him, in the case of the miracles which they 
confirm. 



have committed it. But events in any country might easily become mis- 
placed by half a century in the mind of a foreigner. It would not be sur- 
prising to find a Frenchman so inaccurate in his remembrance of English 
history as to imagine that the Manchester massacre occurred before Lord 
George Gordon's riots. 

* The objections of Lardner are, that no Christian writers before 
Augustine appear to have supposed that the first three evangelists had seen 
each other's Gospels ; that it was not suitable to the character of any of the 
evangelists to transcribe another historian ; that there would have appeared 
no need to repeat things already written ; that there are many seeming 
contradictions and numberless small varieties in the three, also some omis- 
sions, and some things peculiar to each. See Hist, of Apost., chap. x. 



136 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY, ETC. 

It might be said that after admitting so much against the 
credibility of the evangelists, it is inconsistent to receive their 
testimony at all, or to pretend to gather from them any truth 
regarding the history of Christ. But this would be a contrary 
extreme. It is of the very nature of history to contain much 
incorrectness, since it must depend more or less on a series of links 
of human testimony. Therefore to ascertain the truth of remote 
historical facts is a peculiarly difficult attempt, although not alto- 
gether hopeless ; and if the object be considered worth the pains, 
the inquirer must submit to the trouble of sifting narrations, of 
making allowance for mistakes, ignorance, and peculiar biases, and 
in many cases be content to retain a very small grain of reality 
from the midst of a mass of invention. So in these three 
Gospels, after making every allowance for probable mistake and 
fiction, and especially of such a kind as would tend to aggrandise 
the founder of the sect, there still seems to remain so much of 
reality, that the attempt of Jesus to assume the Messiahship, his 
public preaching in Galilee and at Jerusalem, and his crucifixion 
might be considered, from the testimony of these three writers 
alone, as facts deserving a place in history ; which conclusion is 
strongly supported by other writings and subsequent events. 



CHAPTEE VI. 

ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL OF 
ST. JOHN. 

The first three Gospels agree very well in the style of the 
discourses attributed to Christ, which are chiefly parables and 
short pithy sayings. They represent him as beginning his public 
preaching in Galilee, proceeding after some time to Jerusalem, and 
suffering there. The chief topic dwelt upon is the approach of 
the kingdom of heaven ; and they contain much concerning the 
fall of Jerusalem. 

But the Gospel of John is of a very different character. The 
discourses of Christ are here long controversial orations without 
any parables : he is made to journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, 
and back again, many times ; the kingdom of heaven is nearly lost 
sight of ; the fall of Jerusalem never alluded to ; and we have, 
instead of these, several new subjects, viz. the incarnation of the 
word or logos in the person of Christ ; his coming down from 
heaven ; his relationship to the Father ; and the promise of the 
Comforter or Holy Spirit. Also, with few exceptions, a new set 
of miracles is attributed to Christ. 

From the resemblance of style, the author of this Gospel and 
of the three Epistles appears to be the same. In the first Epistle, 
he says, that he had been an eye-witness of the word of life. In 
the last two he calls himself "the elder." There was a John, 
usually called the elder or presbyter, to distinguish him from John 
the Apostle, the brother of James ; and Papias* calls him also 
a "disciple of Jesus." But the name "elder" was not uncom- 
monly given to the heads of the church (1 Peter v. 1), and might 
be assumed by John the Apostle. In the Gospel, the writer is 
said to be the disciple whom Jesus loved. That this is the same 



* Euseb. H. E. 1. 3, c. 29. 



138 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

as the brother of James is confirmed by this, that the other three 
Evangelists often name this John among the more confidential 
disciples of Jesus ; whilst the other John, the presbyter mentioned 
by Papias, does not appear at all. And since the church in 
general has attributed this Gospel to John the Apostle, there 
seems to be sufficient reason to believe that he and the beloved 
disciple were the same. Consequently, this Gospel contains what 
is equivalent to an assertion that it was written by the Apostle 
John, and thus differs from the rest in stating its author. 

There is no external evidence before Irenaeus (178), who said, 
u afterwards, i.e. after Luke wrote, John the disciple of the Lord, 
who also leaned upon his breast, likewise published a Gospel while 
he dwelt at Ephesus in Asia." Clement ofAlexandria, and Origen, 
also speak of this as the last-written Gospel. There are several 
passages in the Fathers before Irenams, having the appearance of 
quotations from or allusions to the Gospel and the 1st Epistle, 
viz. Hermas, A.D. 100; Ignatius, 107; Polycarp, 108. The re- 
sult most generally agreed upon, is the date of 97 or 98 for the 
Gospel*. 

We find in ch. xxi. 24, as follows, " this (the beloved disciple) 
is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these 
things, and we know that his testimony is true." Grotius conjec- 
tures that "we" meant the church at Ephesus. In this case, the 
chapter in question, and therefore probably the whole Gospel, j" 
does not come before us strictly as the writing of St. John, but 
rather as the report of what he wrote, given by some member or 
members of the Ephesian church. The Gospel has the appear- 
ance rather of a collection of detached writings and discourses 
than of a continuous work ; and it seems highly probable that 
some other person than the aged Apostle himself should have been 
employed to put these together and transcribe them. And whether 
this compiler, transcriber, or amanuensis, may not have been so 
zealous as to add not only the last chapter, but also in some other 
parts to improve somewhat upon the Apostle's own words, is diffi- 
cult to determine. Yet the general identity of the style is an ar- 
gument that such liberties could not have been very extensive. 



* Mill, Fabrieius, Le Clerc, and Jones, are for 97 or 98. Lardner " does 
not presume to say exactly the year, but thinks it might be written in the 
year 68." 

f All the evidence from manuscripts confirms the argument derived 
from the style, that the last chapter is a genuine part of the Gospel. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHX. 139 

II. The later date of this Gospel would account in a great 
measure for the difference between its tone and sentiments and 
those of the other three. After so long an interval from the fall 
of Jerusalem, the expectation of an immediate coming of the Son 
of Man had become comparatively faint ; the political character of 
the Messiah as a Jewish deliverer was nearly obsolete ; and the- 
investing him with the attributes suggested by the Alexandrian 
Platonic philosophy, was a theme much more intelligible and in- 
teresting to the Greeks, perhaps also the philosophic Jews at 
Ephesus. The Apostle having been resident there for many 
years,* would naturally become conversant with the prevalent 
habits of thinking and speaking amongst the philosophical and 
religious world around him ; to which indeed the habitual respect 
of the Jews of Palestine for their more learned brethren at Alex- 
andria would have already predisposed him. Hence, although at 
first a partaker of the common expectations relative to the Jewish 
Messiah, he would be disposed to modify his notions according to 
the progress of events, to leave comparatively out of sight the 
political peculiarity which had always been a dangerous one, as 
affording ground for the charge of sedition, and was now of minor 
interest ; and to set forth the religion and its founder in a light 
calculated to render both most honourable in the view of his 
hearers of another region and almost another age. The title 
"King of Israel" is not entirely forgotten; but the "Saviour of 
the world" is the more favourite appellation of Jesus in this. 
Gospel. 

This Gospel appears accordingly to be the attempt of a half- 
educated but zealous follower of Jesus, to engraft his conceptions- 
of the Platonic philosophy upon the original faith of the disciples. 
The divine wisdom, or logos, or light, proceeding from God, of 
which so much had been said in the Alexandrian school, he tells 
us became a man or flesh in the person of Jesus, dwelt for a time 
on earth, and ascended up where he was before, and where he had 
been from the beginning, into the bosom of the Father. The title 
" Son of God," applied by the Jews to the expected Messiah, but 
by the Platonists to the world itself, and afterwards to the logos, 
affords him another point of amalgamation ; and a term which had 
been understood by the Jews probably merely in the sense of 



* The time when John came to Ephesus cannot be ascertained, but the 
opinions vary from A. D. 60 to 70. The chief datum is that he probably 
did not go there till after Paul had been there and written his epistle. 



140 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

election or adoption, as in the case of David, is by him put forth 
as indicating a more sublime and mysterious union. Consequently, 
this Gospel shows throughout a double or Christiano-Platonic 
object; first to prove that Jesus is the Christ, which was common 
to all the Apostles, and secondly that the Christ is the Son of 
God or logos which descended from heaven to give light to men. 

The essential faith he consequently puts in the simple form, 
believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and repeats 
this urgently as of primary necessity for salvation, viii. 24 ; xi. 26 ; 
xiv. 1 ; xx. 31. " These things are written that ye might believe 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye 
might have life through his name." This limitation of the essen-^ 
tial belief to the Messiahship of Jesus is in accordance with the 
representation of Christianity given by Paul, who had preached 
before John in the same place and probably to many of the same 
hearers : viz. — " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord 
Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the 
dead, thou shalt be saved." Rom. x. 9. The shade of difference 
is in the distinguishing attribute of the Messiah ; in Paul's view 
it is his resurrection ; in John's, his being the Word or logos. It 
is probable, moreover, that Paul urged the sufficiency of faith in 
Jesus in opposition to the supposed necessity of keeping the 
Jewish law ; John, in opposition to the dogmas of rising heresies. 
But the absence of any declaration on this point in countries where 
Paul had preached, indicates that John also had relinquished or 
much relaxed his Mosaism ; and the want even of allusion to the 
subject might proceed from its having grown comparatively out of 
date. 

III. Whilst the first three Gospels have principally an historical 
or narrative aim, viz. to give an account of the acts and sayings 
of Jesus, the object of the last is mainly an argumentative or 
controversial one, i. e. to enforce doctrines, supply arguments, and 
answer objections ; and this more with reference to the position 
and thoughts of the Ephesians in the year 97, than to those of 
the inhabitants of Judea in the time of Pilate. It is true that 
there is to some extent a blending of both stages of thought, and 
that the Apostle preserves probably some portion of the realities 
which had passed within or near his time 66 years previously. 
Thus his description of the notions of the priests, xi. 47, 48, their 
fear lest Jesus should occasion the total subversion of their state 
by the Romans, carries us back to the original transactions, and 
would be almost unintelligible unless compared with the other 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE. 141 

Gospels. In some places, as in the account of the crucifixion, he 
continues his narrative for a time as if without other motive than 
the interest of the subject. The texts quoted below are amongst 
some which bear strongly the appearance of being historical relics.* 
But in most chapters narrative forms but a small part, and has 
generally the subsidiary office of supplying occasion for the delivery 
of a doctrine. The events seem to be selected and arranged merely 
in order to give occasion for a miracle, or a declaration of faith. f 
The answers or objections in the dialogues are evidently inserted 
to conduce to the effect of the sentence which Jesus is to utter. J 
And both friends and opponents usually make Christian admissions 
as full as the most zealous believer could desire ; much more cer- 



* I. 19. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask 
hirn (John), Who art thou 1 

I. 24. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 

I. 44. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 

II. 18. Then answered the Jews, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing 
that thou doest these things 1 

III. 23. And John also was baptizing in Enon, near to Salim, because 
there was much water there. 

VI. 15. When Jesus perceived that they would come and take him by 
force to make him king. 

VI. 30. What sign shewest thou then, that we may see and believe 
thee? 

VII. 5. For neither did his brethren believe in him. 

X. 23. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. 

X. 24. If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. (Compare Matt. xvi. 20.) 

XI. 47 — 50. Council of the Pharisees, and advice to Caiaphas. 
XL 54. Ketreat of Jesus to Epharaim. 

XLX. 12. If thou let this man go, thou art not Cassar's friend. 

f See i. 46 — 49, the meeting with Nathaniel, and his speedy confession, 
" Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel." II. 1 — 
10, the marriage-feast ; xi. the whole story of Lazarus. 

X See iv. 9 — 26. Conversation with the woman of Samaria ; whose 
ignorance of the meaning of living water, as well as her uncalled-for sug- 
gestion of the difference between Jewish and Samaritan worship, and her 
spontaneous mention of Messias, all give happy occasions for uttering 
some important points of Christian faith, agreeing with the state of ideas 
when John wrote. See also ver. 33. The inability of the disciples to com- 
prehend the nature of the meat of which Jesus speaks, although expressed 
very historically, is evidently introduced to give effect to the next verse. 
VI. 7, 9. Philip and Andrew fully state the difficulty which the miracle of 
the loaves was to meet. VI. 34. The Jews with much simplicity continue 
to petition for bread ; and viii. 52, cannot perceive that " never tasting 
death" may cover a sense different from natural death. XI. 12. The 
disciples show the same artificial ignorance as to the sense conveyed by 
the word "sleep." 



142 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

tainly than the degree of acquaintance with Jesus, or other 
circumstances implied in the story would appear to warrant.* 

Chronological order and historical accuracy were therefore of 
but little importance to the writer ; and if, as seems probable from 
the abruptness with which some passages begin, (ii. 13; iii. 1; 
viii. 1 ; xv. 1 ; ) this Gospel consists of parts delivered by preaching 
or writing at different times, the order was still more likely to be 
neglected. Add to which, that the distance of time must have 
tended to confuse irretrievably the remembrances of both facts and 
order. Consequently this Gospel presents some notable discre- 
pancies with the other three. For instance : 

II. 13. Jesus comes up to Jerusalem, and drives the buyers and 
sellers from the temple, soon after his baptism, and before his 
public preaching in Galilee. The other three place this in his 



* I. 29. As soon as John the Baptist sees Jesus, he says, " Behold the 
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." According to 
Matt. xi. 3, his faith at a much later date was not so far advanced as to 
acknowledge that Jesus was the Christ. And from Acts xviii. 25, it seems 
very doubtful whether John the Baptist and his sect did ever confess so 
much of Jesus. Ver. 34, John adds his record, that " this is the Son of God ;" 
in 35, 36, repeats his saying, " Behold the Lamb of God." If the Baptist 
had been in the habit of giving such ample and frequent testimony in favour 
■of Christ, how could his fervent disciple Apollos and the disciples of Ephe- 
;sus have needed conversion to faith in Jesus, by so tardy a medium as 
Paul's preaching ? Acts xix. 3 — 5. But if John the Baptist be represented 
;as believing fully at the mere sight of Jesus, his hearers are no less prompt 
in partaking of his belief. Andrew finds his brother SimoiT, and says, " We 
Tiave found the Messias." i. 41. Nathanael's ample confession, ver. 49, has 
but a slender basis in the indications of prophetic knowledge ascribed to 
Jesus, viz. his calling him an Israelite without guile, and his seeing him 
under the fig-tree. The Samaritans, who at a much later period, according 
to Luke, would not even receive Jesus into their villages, here are not only 
■■easily converted, but give an open confession, "we know that this is indeed 
the Christ, the Saviour of the world." iv. 42. However satisfactory this 
confession might sound in the preaching at Ephesus, it is probably more 
than Jesus would have wished for at that time, when he had not yet taken 
the resolution to proclaim himself openly. (See Matt. xvi. 20.) When 
Jesus retreats beyond Jordan, (John x. 41,) the many who resort to him 
fgive a convenient attestation to the writer's report of John the Baptist's 
testimony, "all things that John spake of this man were true," although 
we cannot conceive how any Jews at that time could have had the means 
of arriving at the conclusion that Jesus was "the Lamb of God, that taketh 
away the sins of the world," or even of understanding the phrase. The 
Pharisees, xi. 47, and Pilate, xviii. 38, are made to say all that the 
Christians could desire from them ; " this man doeth many miracles," and 
" I find in him no fault at all." 



THE GOSPEL OP ST. JOHN. 143 

last visit, and make it appear that this illegal act contributed to 
the determination of the council to apprehend him. This harmo- 
nizes so much better with the whole history, that it seems more 
reasonable to suppose that John's disregard of chronology could 
extend to this degree, or that his compiler has to such a degree 
mal-arranged his discourses,* than to reject the concurrent voice 
of his predecessors. 

V. 1. Jesus comes up a second time to Jerusalem, before the 
feeding of the five thousand, of which visit no notice is taken in 
Matthew, who first mentions the intention of Jesus to go up to 
Jerusalem after that miracle. " From that time forth began Jesus 
to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and 
suffer many things, &c." Matt. xvi. 21. This does not agree with 
the supposition that Jesus had already been twice to Jerusalem 
since the beginning of his public preaching. It would not be im- 
possible, although from the current of the story unnatural, to sup- 
pose that a journey to Jerusalem unnoticed by the writer of 
Matthew, took place in the interval between some of the events 
recorded by him since the arrival of Jesus in Galilee ; and in this 
case, he must have given a version of the discourse in question 
conformable to his own erroneous impression. But since the chap- 
ter in John forms a complete isolated story, it is perhaps more 
probable that this visit was the same as some other, perhaps the 
following one in ch. vii.,f and that the mode of collocation has 
given the appearance of two successive visits. 

VII. 1. Another visit to Jerusalem not noticed by Matthew, 
Mark, or Luke. The date is given (feast of tabernacles,) and from 
this time John does not bring Jesus again into Galilee, but to the 
further side of Jordan. Hence it becomes necessary to intercalate 
this visit in Matt. xix. 1, " He departed from Galilee, and came 
into the coasts of Judea beyond Jordan;" an ellipse certainly in- 
admissible except on the supposition that the compiler of Matthew 
endeavoured to give the form of consecutive narration to imperfect 
fragments. 

In some minor instances the story in John clashes more deci- 
dedly with that in the others. He excludes entirely the legend of 
the forty days' temptation by saying that Jesus went into Galilee 



* The passage ii. 13 — 25 might very well have been originally a separate 
narrative. 

t The marks of time do not disagree. This latter visit took place at the 
time of the feast of tabernacles ; the former during a feast of the Jews. 



144 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

the second day after his baptism, and that he was at Cana on the 
third day ; whereas the others say that immediately after his bap- 
tism he remained forty days in the wilderness. He represents 
Jesus as calling Simon and Andrew whilst John was still baptizing, 
i. 40, 41, and near Bethabara beyond Jordan; Matthew places the 
first call of those two disciples both at a different time and a dif- 
ferent place, viz after John was cast into prison, and at the sea of 
Galilee, iv. 18.* See also the date of the supper at Bethany, 
John xii. 1 — 8, compared with Matt. xxvi. 2 — 12. 

To endeavour to reconcile John with his predecessors on the 
hypothesis, that all four wrote invariably true and correct history, 
is evidently hopeless. The discrepancies are so far important as 
to lead us inevitably to infer that in some of them, and probably 
in all four, there is a large measure of that incorrectness which 
proceeds from imperfect knowledge, forgetfulness, or neglect. In 
the case of John, they are to such an extent as to show that 
neither he nor his compiler paid much regard to the Gospels of 
his predecessors, or used them as a guide in forming a new one. 
An Apostle indeed could not be expected sedulously to frame his 
discourses so as to agree with the works of previous compilers, if 
he had known them ; but a disregard of them, allowing of manifest 
contradictions, implies either that those works were but little 
known in his church, or that they had not yet become standards of 
authority. 

It has been supposed that John wrote to supply the deficiencies 
in his predecessors. But there is no trace of such an intention ; 
in some places he narrates at much length the same incidents, and 
in his statement of his design, xx. 30, 31, makes no allusion to 
them. He tells us, xxi. 25, how numerous were the books which 
had been written concerning Jesus, but there is no distinctive 
notice of our three first Gospels. 

Yet although the discrepancies imply at least partial error, they 
are not such as to invalidate entirely the history either of Matthew 
or of John in their main features. Jesus doubtless, like all the J ews 3 
made frequent visits to Jerusalem on the occasion of the feasts ; per- 
haps several after the Baptist began to preach : and John, for some 



* Although the facts in Matthew's story do not exclude the possibility of 
a previous acquaintance between Jesus and the two disciples, the mode of 
expression evidently implies that the writer considered this to be the com- 
mencement of their discipleship. 



19. 




„ 


xxvi. 


iv. 1. 




?> 


IV. 


vi. 69. 




■n 


xvi. 


vii. 5 — 


■9 




XV11. 


xii. 19. 






XXI. 


viii. 1. 






XXVI. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHX. 145 

reason which we cannot discover,* has selected these visits as his 
chief incidents, whilst Matthew preserved chiefly what happened 
in Galilee.- Making allowance for some mistakes and transposi- 
tions in both, a great part of the incidents in John and Matthew 
harmonize.f And this not only in portions of narrative obviously 
corresponding, John i. 23, 42, vi. 5—14, 16—20, 30, xii. 1—8, 
xviii., xix. ; and in some relics of sayings, iv. 35, 38, 44, xiii. 16, 
20 ; (agreeing with Matt. ix. 37, xiii. 57, Luke x. 24, Matt. x. 
24, 40 ;) but in some instances which appear to have the force of 
undesigned coincidence. Compare 

John ii. 18. with Matt. xii. 38. demand of a sign. 

61. destroying the temple. 

12. motive for departure into Ga- 
lilee. 

16. confession of Peter. 

22. the abode still in Galilee. 

46. Pharisees' fear of the multitude. 

30. Kedron and mount of Olives. 
John has, in common with his predecessors, the prophetical 
testimony of the Baptist in favour of Jesus, i. 15, 26, 27 ; the 
descent of the Spirit as a dove upon Jesus, i. 32 ; the feeding of 
the 5000, vi. 5 — 14 ; Jesus walking upon the sea, vi. 16 — 20 ; the 
foretelling of the treachery of Judas, xiii. 21 — 26 ; and of the 
denial by Peter, xiii. 36 — 38. The insertion of these stories in 
John, whilst he has passed over so many others, affords some 
additional argument that to these there might be a basis of reality. 
Some of them are related by John in terms so nearly agreeing 
with those in the others, that it seems probable either that his 
mode of narration was influenced by the very traditions which the 
others had adopted, or that he himself had been the source of those 
traditions. 



* Possibly because John, having for a principal object to give controver- 
sial dialogues with the Jews, inclined to prefer the temple as the scene, 
rather than the villages and mountains of Galilee. 

f If John iv. 1, be admitted to coincide with Matt. iv. 12 ; John vii. 1 
— x. 39, to be passed over in Matt. xix. 1. the two seem in many things to 
support each other. But John vi. 4, has frustrated my attempt to obtain 
the duration of Christ's ministry. The very different conclusions which 
are come to on this point, from 1 to 3 years, seem to arise from the greater 
or less degree of exactness which commentators think it necessary to attri- 
bute to John. 



146 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

IV. The additional miracles in this Gospel are mostly of a more 
bold and marvellous character than those in the others. They are 
generally represented as performed in the most public manner, 
■without the injunctions to secrecy so frequent in the first three 
Gospels. The conversion of water into wine, according to this 
Gospel, was the beginning of the miracles of Jesus, and " mani- 
fested forth his glory:" it is strange that none of the other 
histories should hint at it, and that it should first appear in a 
writing of the year 97. He says that an angel went down at 
certain seasons into the pool of Bethesda, as if here recording not 
a popular notion, but a fact which he means to be believed as much 
as the rest of the story.* He gives us the raising of Lazarus in 
open day near Jerusalem, the people coming out to meet Jesus on 
that account, and Lazarus himself eating and drinking in public ; 
whilst none of the preceding writers make any allusion either to 
this astonishing miracle itself, or to its consequences. And as if 
to supply the most convincing attestation possible of the divine 
mission of his master, he tells us that at Jerusalem, before the 
people, whilst Jesus was praying, a voice came from the sky to 
answer him, xii. 28. 

Admitting the greater part of this Gospel to have been written 
or dictated by St. John, about the year 97, for the use of the 
Ephesian church, we have still no guarantee of the Apostle's 
veracity or correctness of memory. At that time he must have 
been nearly 100 years old: his other writings show that he pos- 
sessed a vivid imagination and strong feelings ; and it is well 
known that such persons are apt to mingle truth and falsehood in 
their narratives even unintentionally. But the Apostle was also 
under the strongest temptation to indulge in fiction. He had been 
personally attached to Jesus, and believed him to be the Messiah. 
After the death of his Master, the Apostle's station in the church 
prompted him to take a prominent part in spreading the common 
belief. Interest and ambition, as well as private friendship and 
religious zeal, urged John to be a strenuous preacher of Jesus the 
Messiah. If any of the brethren were pressed too hard by 



* The genuineness of ver. 3, 4, containing the descent of the angel, has 
been disputed ; but Bretschneider, Probabilia, p. 68, gives strong reasons for 
believing that they were written by the author of John, as well as the rest 
of the story. In Tertullian's time there was no trace of the pool remaining ; 
he wrote therefore that after the coming of Christ its efficacy ceased. De 
Baptismo, c. 5. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. 147 

unbelievers concerning the proof of the Messiahship of the car- 
penter's son, it was natural to look to the confidential followers of 
Jesus himself for assistance. These found it not so easy to con- 
vince others as themselves ; for the impression made by the life 
and character of Jesus could not be easily condensed into an 
argument fit to oppose to objectors, and the proofs from prophecy 
appeared to dispassionate observers far-fetched and doubtful. The 
assertion of his miracles of healing and casting out demons was 
also liable to objections, since others had pretended to the same 
powers. Hence the temptation continually to adopt or invent 
fresh stories of miracles, which might serve in the controversy as 
more indubitable proofs of a divine mission. In proportion to the 
distance of time and place from the scene of the original transac- 
tions, this species of imposition became more easy. Accordingly, 
we find but few allusions to miracles in the Epistles ; abundant 
accounts of them in the four Gospels ; and in this last Gospel, 
published much later than the others, and at Ephesus, bolder and 
more gross stories of miracles, as well as more confident appeals 
to them, than in any other. The Apostle had been for sixty-four 
years accustomed to hear exaggerated and fictitious accounts of 
the acts of Christ, and could not but observe their efficacy in 
promoting the faith of the church. For, since he puts this saying 
into the mouth of Christ, (John iv. 48,) " Unless ye see wonders 
and signs, ye will not believe," we may infer that he himself 
found it necessary to supply his hearers at least with narratives of 
such wonders and signs. And at that distance of time, amongst 
the strangers of Ephesus, there was no one capable of controvert- 
ing his statements. 

The temptation to fiction on the part of the Apostle was of the 
strongest kind. All additional lustre thrown upon the person of 
Jesus was reflected upon him, the beloved disciple, a chief apostle, 
and leader in the church. The purest sentiments arising from 
friendship and reverence for his master, would also prompt him to 
seize all opportunities of doing him honour ; and who can assure 
us that the Apostle did not partake so far of the imperfections of 
human nature as, in some instances, to overlook the character of 
the means for the attainment of a good end ? Historical veracity 
would not appear to him of the chief importance. " He only is a 
liar who denieth Jesus to be the Christ," 1 Epist. ii. 22. He does 
not even pretend that his Gospel was written in order to give a 
correct history of Jesus, but he says, " these are written that ye 
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that 



118 ON THE DATE AXD CREDIBILITY OF 

believing ye might have life through his name." xx. 31. To com- 
municate this, his own sincere belief, to others, was his main 
object; and the stress which he laid upon it is visible throughout 
his writings, iii. 36, " He that believeth on the Son hath ever- 
lasting life ; and he that believeth not on the Son, shall not see 
life." vi. 69; viii. 24; ix. 35; xi. 15, 27 ; 1 Epist. v. 13. 

There is an important consideration which establishes some dif- 
ference between the fictions of this writer and ordinary cases of 
false testimony. It is, that he supposed himself to be writing 
under the influence of the Holy Spirit, xiv. 16 — 18, "And I will 
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he 
may abide with you for ever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom the 
world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth 
him: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in 
you. I will not leave you comfortless ; I will come to you." 26, 
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father 
will send in my name, he shall teach you all shings, and bring all 
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." 
xv. 26, 27, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send 
unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which pro- 
ceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. And ye also shall 
bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." 
He believed, therefore, that the Holy Spirit, which was given after 
Jesus was glorified and become invisible (vii. 39), was his repre- 
sentative and the organ of communication with his disciples ; 
consecpiently that whatever was suggested by the Holy Spirit 
might be regarded as Jesus's own words. On this principle he 
would even consider the dictates of the Holy Spirit since the death 
of Jesus as of equal authority with the words spoken by Jesus 
when he was with them, or in the beginning. And if we allow 
that this writer, like many others, was liable to consider the off- 
spring of his own imagination as the dictates of the Holy Spirit, 
it was natural that he should attribute to Jesus his own views and 
opinions without any consciousness of fraud; for the distinction 
of the time at which the sentiment was first uttered would appear 
comparatively unimportant. The most dispassionate historians 
are apt to introduce their own views into the discourses they re- 
cord ; much more would this be the case with a zealous defender 
of a church, interested in the controversies of his time, and be- 
lieving himself under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

Moreover this habit, of following his own imagination as the 
voice of the Holy Spirit, might extend to his narrative of facts. 



THE GOSPEL OF 8T. JOHN. 149 

For it is well known that a strong bias will lead people almost un- 
consciously to distort and invent facts ; and, with such an earnest 
purpose as the writer had to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, 
he might not only mingle truth with falsehood unintentionally, 
but even fall into the persuasion that the Holy Spirit permitted 
such additions and improvements as he could not but know to be 
fictitious, but which seemed necessary to produce the desired effect 
upon his hearers. 

The following texts indicate that his statements were not im- 
plicitly received by all in his own time. iii. 11, "We speak that 
we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our 
witness." 32, "What he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth, 
and no man receiveth his testimony." The strong asseveration of 
his veracity, when relating that blood and water issued from the 
wound in the side of Jesus (xix. 35), affords presumption that his 
assertions frequently met with considerable opposition. See also 
1 Epist. iv. 6, " We are of God : he that knoweth God, heareth us ; 
he that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit 
of truth and the spirit of error." 

V. The discourses attributed to Jesus are so similar in style to 
John's own Epistles, and so dissimilar to those of Jesus in Mat- 
thew, Mark, and Luke, that it is difficult to consider them as 
faithful reports. Instead of uttering short fragments, the form in 
which real sayings were most likely to be preserved, the Jesus of 
this Gospel usually holds sustained dialogues, or delivers long 
orations, sometimes of several chapters, and always in the very 
remarkable style of the writer himself. In ch. v. IS, the Jews 
seek to kill Jesus, upon which he makes a discourse of thirty verses 
on the authority given to the Son by the Father. In the answer 
to Xicodemus, iii. 11, Jesus is made to say, "We speak that we 
do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our 
witness." The writer himself very often introduces this protesta- 
tion ; but here it is unmeaning in the mouth of Jesus, since he 
was then only beginning his ministry, and Nicodemus was come 
expressly to receive his witness. And in the same speech Jesus 
is made to say several sentences agreeing almost literally with 
some in John's Epistle* A little further on, John the baptist 

* John iii. 16. (speech to Xicode- 1 1 Epistle iv. 9. In this was mani- 
mus.) For God so loved the world, fested the love of God towards us, be- 
that he gave his only begotten Son. : cause that God sent his only begotten 
that whosoever believeth in him should | Son into the world, that we might 
not perish, but have everlasting life, | live through him. 



150 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

speaks also very closely in the style of the same Epistle.* When 
Jesus was brought before Pilate, the other Evangelists relate, that, 
after admitting that he was King of the Jews, he answered no- 
thing ; but John makes him converse very freely with Pilate on 
the nature of his kingdom; and at ver. 11, ch. xix. he tells him 
that Judas, of whom Pilate knew nothing, was more sinful than 
he. In ch. xii. 32, Jesus says, "And I, if I be lifted up from the 
earth, will draw all men unto me;" and the people, by their an- 
swer, appear at once to understand that lifting up signified his 
death. Moreover Jesus is represented as calling the people or 
multitude " the Jews,"f a mode of expression very unnatural to 
himself, a Jew speaking to Jews, but quite natural to one writing 
at Ephesus long after the admission of the Gentiles. (See xiii. 
33; x. 34; xviii. 20; vii. 19; viii. 56.) These, and numerous 
other instances, show so little care on the part of the writer to put 
into the mouth of Jesus expressions suitable to the time and cir- 
cumstances described, that it appears most likely that he only ex- 
pected these discourses to be received as his own interpretation of 
Christ's doctrine. We feel that it is the Evangelist himself 






17. For God sent not his Son into 
the world to condemn the world, but 
that the world through him might 
be saved. 

18. He that believe th on him is not 
condemned : but he that believeth not 
is condemned already, because he 
hath not believed in the name of the 
only begotten Son of God. 

* John iii. 36. (John the Baptist.) 
He that believeth on the Son hath 
everlasting life ; and he that believeth 
not the Son shall not see life ; but the 
wrath of God abideth on him. 

■f- The absurdity of this term, as we find it applied in John, does not seem 
to constitute an invincible objection to the authenticity of the Gospel, if we 
consider the probable long residence of John in Asia Minor, and the habit 
which many persons have of accommodating their mode of expression to the 
ideas which they are conscious exist in the minds of their hearers, rather 
than to their own knowledge. In the Acts, the chief opponents of the 
church were "the Jews," and by the time of John, the minor distinctions of 
Jewish sects had become still more completely superseded by the one grand 
distinction in the eyes of the church, of opposition to the name of Jesus. 
It is to be observed that he does sometimes introduce "the Pharisees," 
&c. when he leaves the controversial for the narrative style. 



14. And we have seen and do tes- 
tify that the Father sent the Son to 
be the Saviour of the world. 

V. 10. He that believeth on the 
Son of God hath the witness in him- 
felf : he that believeth not God, hath 
made him a liar, because he believeth 
not the record that God gave of his Son. 

See above. 1 Epist. v. 12. He that 
hath the Son hath life ; and he that 
hath not the Son of God hath not 
life. 






THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. 151 

speaking, rather than reporting ; that the Jews, the disciples, and 
Jesus himself, in most places afford the dramatis personae, and his 
recollections of events and places in Judea, the scenery, for con- 
veying lessons to his little children in the church. 

VI. This Gospel, more than any other, exhibits the character- 
istics of the writer himself ; and they do not disagree with what 
we know of the apostle John historically : a Galilean fisherman 
who when very young left all to follow Jesus, the favourite dis- 
ciple of his master, subsequently one of chief authority in the 
church, introduced to philosophical speculations to which he had 
not been formally educated, and, at the time this Gospel was pub- 
lished, probably the last venerable remnant of the college of 
apostles. He is earnest and eloquent, but illogical and rambling ; 
his dicta follow one another frequently without any obvious con- 
nexion, and without any bearing upon the point in question. 
Like many men more indebted to feeling than to reason for their 
eloquence, he answers objections, not by pertinent facts and argu- 
ments, but with a flow of his own favourite ideas.* He is autho- 
ritative and frequently dignified ; but sometimes dogmatical, harsh, 
and free in the use of spiritual menaces. " He that believeth not 
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." 
iii. 36. f The patient and. elaborate argumentation of Paul was 
unsuited to his different intellectual power ; he enforces his point 
by vehemence and repetition more than by reasoning, like one 
relying upon his apostolic infallibility and impatient of opposition.^ 
He aspires continually after the most sublime abstractions in the 
manner of the philosophical schools ; but intermixes tales and 
dialogues in the Rabbinical style. He seeks to accommodate his 
language to the ideas of his hearers, § but his whole work is replete 
with Hebraical and Rabbinical phraseology and ideas, || as if his 



* See discourse with Nicodemus, iii. In reply to the question of Nico- 
demus, " How can these things be?" (being born again) Jesus (or the writer) 
reproves his ignorance, asserts the value of his own testimony, asks how 
he will believe if he tells him heavenly things, says the Son of Man must 
be lifted up lite the Serpent, that believing in the Son brings eternal life, 
and finally leaves the question unanswered, iii. 31 — 36, have no connexion 
with the question of purifying which occasions the speech of the Baptist. 
See also vi. 42 — 65, vii. 27—29, viii. 22—26, xiv. 5, 6. 

f See also viii. 44, 55 ; x. 8, 26. 

% VIII. 47 ; 1 Epist. iv. 6 ; 2 Epist, 10 ; 3 Epist. 10. 

§ I. 38, 41 ; iv. 25 ; vi. 1, 4 ; xix. 40. 

|| Tanchuma, fol. 61, 3. For there is no light except the life, as saith 



1.52 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

later acquisitions had not been able to displace that style of thought 
and expression with which the schools of Judea had imbued him. 



Proverbs xvi. 15, In the light of the king's countenance is life. Compare 
John i. 4. 

Miclrasch Euth in Sohar Chadasch, fol. 67, 2. on Pror. xx. 27. The can- 
dle of the Lord is the soul of man. What doth the candle ? It shineth in 
the darkness. Compare John i. 5. 

Tanchuma, 57, 2. I will dwell (pitch my tent) in the midst of you. This 
expression applied to the Shechinah. Comp. John i. 14. 

Debarim rabba, 2 fol. 251, 1. Joseph confessed his country .... and he 
denied not, but said, &c. Sohar in Jalkut Bubeni r 145, 4. Jethro con- 
fessed, and lied not. A Jewish mode of assertion. Comp. John i. 20. 

Jalkut Bubeni r 30, 4. The Messiah beareth the sins of the Israelites. 
John i. 29. 

Sohar Genes, fol. 6. E. Eleazar and E. Abba meeting a celebrated 
teacher on his road, say to him, Behold thou wouldest not tell us thy name ; 
where, I pray, is the place of thy dwelling? John i. 38. 

A mark of holiness to pray in remote places, as under the fig-tree, rather 
than in public places. Breschith rabba, sect. 62, fol. 60, 3. E. Jose and 
his disciples rose in the morning, and studied under a fig-tree. John i. 48. 

Chagigah, fol. 13, 1. A young man who makes a certain search before 
the time, is consumed by lightning, and the reason is given, "because his 
time was not yet come." John ii. 4. 

Bammidbar rabba, fol. 238, I. At that time, when Moses ascended into 
heaven, he heard the voice of God. John iii. 13. 

To judge, tcptveiv, used frequently in Jewish writings, Talmud, &c, in the 
sense of condemning. John iii. 17. 

To do the truth and to do a lie, for doing well or evil, a common He- 
braism. Levit. xix. 35. Deut. xxv. 16. Jerem. viii. 10, &c. Midrasch in 
Jalkut SimeorrL Whosoever doeth the truth shall be firm, but he who 
doeth a lie shall not be strengthened. John iii. 21. 

The friend of the bridegroom a regularly defined office among the Jews,- 
John iii. 29, 

Jalkut Eubeni, fol. 42, 2. Let a man beware of cultivating friendship 
with a CuthEean (Samaritan). John iv. 9. 

To drink of his waters, a common phrase for being his disciple. Chagiga, 
fol. 3, I. They replied to E. Joshua, We are thy disciples, and we drink 
of thy waters. John iv. 14. 

Sohar Chadasch, fol. 45, 1. Speaking of the times of the Messiah, From 
that time the prayers of the Israelites will ascend to God from whatsoever 
place they are poured forth before the holy King. John iv. 21. 

Psalm cxlv. 18. The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him, to all 
that call upon him in truth. John iv. 24. 

Berachoth, fol. 43, 2. Among the six things forbidden to the disciples 
of wise men, is to talk with a woman hi the public way. John iv. 27. (they 
wondered.) 

Numb. xvi. 28. Moses says, I have not done these works of myself. 
John v. 30. 

A common phrase in the Talmud ; Eabbi N. came in the name of Eabbi 
N., i. e, he taught the things which he had heard from him. John v.. 43, 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN- 153 

His Judaism with respect to the law of Moses is obscured by the 
preponderance of philosophic notions, and the more enlarged ideas 

Sonar Chadasch, 12, 3, We pray God to give ua a son, who may do 
his work. John vi. 28. 

Synopsis Sohar, p. 87. If any one desireth to attach himself to God, God 
taketh hold of him, nor letteth him go. John vi. 44. 

Sohar Chadasch, 40, 4. When a man turneth to the Lord, he is filled as 
a fountain with living waters, and his streams go forth to men of every 
tribe. John vii. 38. 

Many of the Rabbins considered it a profanation of the law to read it be- 
fore the common people. John vii. 49. 

Ketavoth, fol. 27, 1. A man speaking for himself is not believed. No 
man giveth testimony for himself. John viii. 13. 

Sohar Numbers, 73, 291. Whosoever giveth labour' to the law, he' is free 
in all things. John viii. 32. 

Avoda Sara, 10, 2. on Obad. v. 18. These things are understood of those, 
who do the works of Esau. John viii. 39. 

Sohar Chadasch, fol. 27, 3. The wicked are twice called " Sons of the old 
serpent, who slew Adam and all descending from him." John viii. 44. 

Jevamoth, fol. 47, 1. R. Jehuda reproaches a person, As for thy words, 
thou art a Samaritan whose testimony is worth nothing with us. John 
viii. 48. 

Sohar Chadasch, fol. 15, 2. We find no shepherd who layeth down his 
life for the flock, like Moses. John x. 11. 

Midrasch Ruth in Sohar Chadasch, fol. 59, 2. This (disobedience) is the 
perverse path, which is called night. John xi. 10. 

Breschith rabba, 94, 92, 3. It is better to slay one man than to injure a 
whole society. John xi. 50. 

Men were supposed by the Jews to be elected to the office of prophet 
without regard to their inclinations or characters, as Balak. Jalkut Simeoni, 
part 2, fol. 98, 3. No one of the prophets knew what he prophesied, ex-<- 
cept Moses and Esaias, John xi. 51. (Caiaphas.) 

Synopsis Sohar, p. 109, n. 2. In paradise are certain mansions for the 
pious of the Gentiles, and for the kings of the world who do good to the Is* 
raelites. John xiv. 2. 

Sohar Genes. 76, 299. R. Pinchas said : Before the righteous dieth, the 
bath kol exclaimeth thus to the righteous in paradise, Prepare a place for 
him who is coming. John xiv. 2. 

Bammidbar rabba, sect 14, 223, 4. R. Jehoshua said : That generation 
is not fatherless, in which R. Eliezer son of Azariah liveth. John xiv. 18. 

Criminal proceedings were distinguished by the Jews into three kinds ? 
of sin or crime, when manifest sinners were condemned and punished ; of 
justice or righteousness, when one unjustly accused was defended against 
oppression, attack, or false witness ; of judgment, when the condemned 
party had to suffer what he had done to the other. John xvi. 8. 

This is only a small specimen of the numerous iustances collected by 
Lightfoot and Schoettgen, Horse Heb. The subject is important as it tends 
to prove chiefly by means of latent Hebraisms, that this Gospel was written 
by one originally a Jew, notwithstanding some appearances to the contrary f 
and so far it adds to the probability of John's being the originator of it. 



154 ON THE DATE AWD CREDIBILITY OF 

which nearly all the Christians had admitted 30 years after the 
fall of Jerusalem. He is aware that the time was to come when 
neither at Mount Gerizim nor at Jerusalem alone men should wor- 
ship the Father, and that Jesus was to have many sheep besides 
those of the first fold in Judea. He partakes eyen of the feeling 
which seems to have prevailed among the Christians of Asia 
Minor in Paul's time, that Judaism, which in many cases probably 
he merely personifies under the name of " the Jews," must now be 
considered an antagonistic power to Jesus or Christianity. But 
traces of his early creed continually appear, and he frequently re- 
verts from the more liberal Greek style of answering objections 
by counter-reasoning, to appeals to the authority of the law and 
the prophets v. 39; vii. 19. x. 35.* As if conscious that the de- 
gree to which he carried the notion of an incarnation, " I and the 
Father are one," and " he who hath seen me hath seen the Father," 
sounded at variance with Hebrew ideas, he labours on this subject 
to apologize, explain, and reconcile, x. 33 — 36. f There prevails 
however throughout a certain spirit of elevation proceeding from 
the mystic speculations of Platonism, which however perplexing 
and unintelligible, allured men to the exercise of their highest 
powers. The Galilean Platonist labours, amidst the difficulties 
of imperfect diction and inaccurate habits of reasoning, to express 
his conceptions that there are higher things before men than the 
common objects of sense, reaches from the more accessible or earthly 
doctrines to the more sublime or heavenly ones, and blending his 
glimpses of philosophic truth with zeal for his church and affec- 
tion for his master, labours incessantly to prove that Jesus is the 
emanation of Deity, and therefore Deity itself, which gives light 
to the world and a higher life to men. With his controversial 
aim and exclusive attachments, it was not to be expected that he 
should admit any kindred or rival Eeons ; the Greeks might pro- 
claim Plato or Epicurus, and rival Jews Simon Magus, but in his 
view all besides Jesus were thieves and robbers : in him alone the 
Supreme Good, the Father appears visibly, and he alone is the 
light shining for a little time in the darkness which comprehendeth 
it not. 



* In the same Jewish spirit, iv. 5, 22 ; xii. 38 — 41. 

f The tone of the answer to Philip, xiv. 10, 11, implies that the oneness 
of Jesus with the Father was still to many a strange and imperfectly under- 
stood doctrine. 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. 155 

But it is when the writer descends into thoughts and feelings 
more common to humanity that his chief power is felt. His 
picture of Jesus bequeathing his parting benediction to the dis- 
ciples, seems fully to warrant the idea that the author is one whose 
imagination and affections had received an impress from real scenes 
and real attachments. The few relics of the words, looks, and 
acts of Jesus, which friendship itself could at that time preserve 
unmixed, he expands into a complete record of his own and the 
disciples' sentiments ; what they felt he makes Jesus speak. The 
remembrance of their companion and master he represents as 
imparted to them by himself, — the peace given, not as the world 
giveth ; and the whole of the recollections, suggestions, and 
influences, derived directly or indirectly from Jesus, which since 
his departure had formed the solace of the disciples and the main- 
stay of their faith, he identifies with the operation of the Holy 
Spirit, and embodies into the Comforter deputed by Jesus to 
represent him in his absence. To resolve all that he has felt into 
the operation of his own mind, would appear very strange and 
cold metaphysics to one of the school of Galilee ; Jesus himself 
is to come to them and be seen by them in the Paraclete, xiv. 
18, 19. 

Looking rigidly at the merit of this Gospel in point of morality, 
it is perhaps as inferior to Matthew in this respect as it is superior 
in depth of feeling and pathos. There are few, if any, of those 
weighty moral lessons of universal acceptation which we find Jesus 
so frequently delivering elsewhere. To exalt and deify Jesus may 
be an office highly congenial to the feelings of a follower and 
friend ; but it does not take the same rank with the inculcation of 
mercy and justice. This Gospel, if alone, would leave the impres- 
sion that belief in Jesus as the Christ, and the recognition of the 
high offices which the writer labours to attribute to him, is the 
chief obligation laid upon man. The commandment to love one 
another is certainly enforced with much strength and pathos ; but 
the commandment partakes too much of an exclusive spirit ; it is 
for the Christian sect alone ; it is not the language of wide philan- 
thropy, " love all men ;" but, " I pray not for the world, but for 
these whom thou hast given me out of the world." 

To etsablish the pre-eminence and dignity of his master, is the 
chief object of the writer. But he labours also to prove that the 
authority of Jesus was bequeathed by him to his apostles. " I 
have given them thy words, and the world hath hated them, 
because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world," 



156 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

xvii. 14. " As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I 
also sent them into the world," 18. The spiritual powers to be 
wielded by them, after the departure of the first Shepherd, were 
to be of the most ample kind. " And in that day ye shall ask me 
nothing : verily, verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the 
Father in my name, he will give it you," xvi-. 23. " Whose 
soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whose soever 
sins ye retain, they are retained," xx. 23. There is some evidence 
that in the case of John as well as of Paul, this bold assertion of 
authority was not unneeded. The disciple was not above his 
master ; and as Jesus had met with neglect or opposition in his 
lifetime, so was John prevented by a Diotrephes, a Cerinthus, and 
the Nicolaitans, from enjoying, during his personal ministry in 
the church, that submissive homage so readily conceded to him 
when he had become no more than a venerable name, 

It has been seen, that if John be admitted to be the author of 
this Gospel, whilst the hypothesis of real miracles be rejected, it 
becomes inevitable to charge the apostle with wilful fiction ; or at 
least with allowing his imagination to take the place of his memory 
to such a degree as is nearly equivalent to it. And the degree and 
kind of moral excellence which we recognize in the work itself, by 
no means disagree with such a conclusion. On the contrary, zeal 
and affection for Jesus, combined with a tendency to sublime mys- 
ticism, were likely rather than otherwise to produce a habit of 
pious fraud in discoursing concerning him to others ; which kind 
of discourse, by length of time, would become hardly distinguish- 
able in the mind of the individual from more honest narration. 
There does not appear in this Gospel any of that high-toned 
morality which cultivates the love of abstract truth, apart from 
interest and feeling. This is to be sought for chiefly amongst the 
most philosophic as well as benevolent minds ; and even amongst 
such it is perhaps not very common. But in an uneducated Gali- 
lean disciple — apparently of moderate intellect, deep feeling, and 
vivid imagination, a partizan among opponents, of a nation with 
whom religious fables and legends formed a favourite and impor- 
tant part of their literature — such a moral attainment must have 
■excited our surprise ; the absence of it can leave none. 

The character of Jesus in this Gospel, with the exception of the 
parts where simple realities seem to break through, is perhaps on 
the whole less within the reach of our sympathies than in the 
preceding ones. In order to fulfil the objects of the writer, he is 
made to move and speak as a mystical and sublime personage, 



THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. 157 

condescending to make a temporary sojourn in, rather than be- 
longing to, this world. He seldom opens his mouth -without 
conveying an intimation or direct assertion of his own high offices 
and nature. The perpetual and authoritative claim of adoration 
may be thought in this Gospel to overpower the spontaneous and 
pleasing homage which his character and precepts must more or 
less excite. This however was naturally regarded as an excellence 
rather than a defect by the church ; and the Gospel of John has 
been, since the time of Origen, regarded with peculiar favour, as 
showing forth the divinity, whilst the others taught only the 
humanity, of the Christ. 



Since writing the above, I have read Bretschneider's Probabilia, which, 
as Credner says, comprises all that can be said against the authenticity of 
the Gospel of John. It is undoubtedly of great weight ; and can only be 
met by the supposition that the apostle had become in a great measure 
estranged from his earlier associations, and spoke or wrote much more with 
reference to the controversies of his time, than as an historian. 

The chief objections of Bretschneider are : — The unsuitableness of the 
discourses of Jesus, the Baptist, and the Jews, and their extreme difference 
of character from those in the earlier Gospels : — Stories entirely fictitious, 
or an admixture of the fictitious with real incidents, such as show that he 
was neither a companion of Jesus, nor an eye-witness : — Ignorance of the 
geography, customs, and modes of thought of Judea, to such an extent as 
to show that the writer was not even a native of Palestine ; for instance, 
Sychar for Sichem. iv. 5 — 7 (this seems however satisfactorily answered 
by Credner) ; Bethany beyond Jordan, i. 28, in the best manuscripts as 
approved by Griesbach, and not Bethabara, which is a spurious emenda- 
tion ; iEnon spoken of as a town, whilst it probably meant only fountains, 
iii. 23 ; Siloam falsely translated sent. ix. 7 ; the high priesthood apparently 
considered annual, xi. 49 — 52 ; the passover-supper placed a day wrong, if 
the other three are right, which difference might be explained by supposing 
the writer ignorant of the Jewish mode of beginning the day at 6 o'clock 
in the evening. The Gospel generally appears framed so as to meet the 
objections which are found in the mouths of Celsus. Trypho, and other 
opponents in the second century. The Apocalypse does not appear to be 
by the same writer as the Gospel, and moreover is not itself proved to be 
by John. The first epistle is from the same writer as the Gospel ; but the 
testimony from Papias, Polycarp, Irenseus, &c, is not sufficiently clear to 
prove that this was John, in the face of the above difficulties. The appa- 



158 ON THE DATE AND CREDIBILITY OF 

although there might be in him a larger proportion of Hellenisms and 
Alexandrianisms. The similar passages in the Fathers do generally, con- 
sidering the peculiar style of the fourth Gospel, and of the first Epistle of 
John, bear the appearance of quotations or recollections from these scrip- 
tures, and thus prove at least so much, that they were writings of authority 
from nearly the beginning of the second century. See especially Polycarp, 
iii. 1 — 3 ; Hermas, Simil. ix. v. 117 ; Comm. iii. 2 ; Ignatius to Magnes. iii. 2. 
The geographical and historical objections are difficult to dispose of, except 
by supposing that the Gospel, as we have it, was not written by the apostle 
himself, but is rather a collection of his discourses or writings made by 
some follower, disciple, or some member of his church, who in endeavour- 
ing to connect and embellish, has made mistakes. 

But the many apparent realities, not borrowed from the other three, yet 
agreeing with the history preserved in them (which part of the subject is 
not considered by Bretschneider), form perhaps the most important reason 
for concluding that this Gospel originated in great part from, if not actually 
written by, the apostle. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ON THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 

I. Peter and the other apostles were dismayed for a time by the 
death of Jesus ; but having become persuaded that he was the 
Messiah, and having abandoned all for his cause, they comforted 
themselves with the belief that he was taken up into heaven like 
Moses and Elias, and would soon appear again to fulfil his pro- 
mises and restore the throne of Israel. They determined then to 
maintain their society ; and having assembled in an upper chamber 
those of the disciples who had not yet dispersed themselves, they 
agreed to preach that their master was risen from the dead. 
" Wherefore of these men which have companied with us, all the 
time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning 
from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken 
up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his 
resurrection." — Acts i. 21, 22. 

The resurrection of the dead was a stirring question at that 
time, and was part of the creeds of both the Pharisees and Essenes. 
The doctrine, therefore, that Jesus had risen from the dead, in a 
spiritual sense at least, would easily be admitted by the mass of 
the people, and, indeed, cannot be disputed by persons of any age 
believing in the immortality of the soul. 

It seems probable that the original belief among the apostles 
was merely that Christ had been raised from the dead in an invi- 
sible or spiritual manner ; for where we can arrive at Peter's own 
words, viz., in his Epistle, he speaks of Christ as being " put to 
death in the Jiesh, but made alive in the spirit" 1 Pet. iii. 18,* 



* The genuineness of the first Epistle of Peter seems to be very well 
established. (See Lardner, vol. vi. p. 254.) But, of the second, Eusebius 
said that it was not received in ancient times, but was read, because it 
appeared to many to be useful. And to the sceptical, ch. i. 14, affords 
suspicion of its spuriousness. 



160 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

QavarujQuc piv caput, %uiOTroir]Qeig Se ry 7rvevfian* That the last phrase 

signifies a mode of operation invisible to human eyes appears from 
the following clause, which describes Jesus as preaching, also in 
the spirit, tv ^', to the spirits in prison. 

But some of the disciples soon added to this idea of an invisible or 
spiritual resurrection, that Jesus had appeared to many in a bodily 
form. In the book of Acts, the apostles are frequently made to 
profess themselves " witnesses, fiaprvpsg, of the resurrection of 
Jesus." But as the word does not signify, of necessity, an eye- 
witness, but rather an assertor or testifier, this declaration of the 
apostles may mean only that they believed, and were ready to 
assert, that he was risen. That they had actually seen him alive 
since his supposed resurrection, is quite a distinct assertion, and 
not included in the former. And it is this latter point which it 
chiefly concerns us to examine. First, let us collect all the testi- 
monies concerning the resurrection found in the book of Acts, 
which, it must be remembered, is not from the pen of an apostle, 
but of Luke, who does not tell us that he was present at the earlier 
transactions which he relates. 

Acts i. 22, Of these men must one be ordained to be a ivitness 
toith us of his resurrection. 

Acts ii. 24, Whom God hath raised up. 32, This Jesus hath 
God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 

Acts iii. 15, And killed the Prince of Life, ivhom God hath raised 
up, whereof to e are witnesses. 

Acts iv. 1, 2, The Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that 
they taught through Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 

10, Whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead. 

20, For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and 
heard. 

33, And ivith great power gave the apostles witness of the resur- 
rection of the Lord Jesus. 

Acts v. 17, Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were 
ivith him (which was the sect of the Sadducees), and were filled with 
indignation. 

Acts v. 30, The God of our Fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye 
slew and hanged on a tree. 

* The received translation is, " in the flesh — by the spirit ;" but it does 
not appear why the preposition should be changed. 1 Pet. iv. 6, seems to 
be a parallel place, and shows that the insertion of the article does not 
give a different sense to TrvivfiaTi. "By the Spirit," (Matt. iv. 1,) is viro 

TOV 7TVlVfiaT0g. 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 161 

Acts x. 40, 41, Him God raised up the third day, and shelved 
him openly. Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of 
God, even to us, ivho did eat and drink with him after he ivas risen 
from the dead. — Peter's speech. 

Acts xiii. 30 — 37, But God raised him from the dead. And he 
was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee 

to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people For 

David was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption : but he, whom 
God raised again, saw no corruption. — Paul's speech at Antioch 
in Pisidia. 

Acts xvii. 18, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange Gods: 
because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. 

Acts xvii. 31, Whereof he hath given assurance to all men, in 
that he hath raised him from the dead. 

Acts xxiii. 6, / am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; of the 
hope and resurrection of the dead am I called in question. 

Acts xxiv. 21, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called 
in question by you this day. 

Acts xxv. 19, They had certain questions against him of their 
own superstition, and of one Jesus, which icas dead, whom Paul af- 
firmed to be alive. 

Acts xxvi. 8, Why should it be thought a thing incredible with 
you that God should raise the dead? 22, 23, / continue unto this 
day, witnessing — that Christ shoidd suffer, and that he should be 
the first that should rise from the dead. 

In only one of these speeches is Peter made to say that the 
■witnesses had seen Jesus, (x. 40, 41.) And here we have little 
reason to think that we have Peter's exact words. For, at the 
distance of about forty years at which Luke wrote, he could only 
have a general impression of the purport of the apostles' early 
discourses ; and since by that time the stories of the re-appearance 
of Jesus had grown into general repute, and were believed by 
Luke himself, it was natural for him to mingle his own and the 
popular belief in his report. All that the apostles had said con- 
cerning the resurrection, although applicable at first only to an 
invisible and supposed resurrection, would, in consequence of the 
prevalence of the stories alluded to, come to be understood as 
attesting a bodily re-appearance. The distinction between the two 
kinds of assertion might easily be overlooked, and the one, when 
reported at second-hand and from hearsay, be changed into the 
other. It has been seen in the case of Gamaliel, that Luke 
allowed himself to fill up what he considered suitable speeches for 

L 



162 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

his personages ; we are therefore on surer ground when quoting 
the apostles' own writings. 

In Peter's first Epistle, all the testimonies are these — 

I. 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto 
a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto 
an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. 
20, 21, Who (Christ) was pre-ordained before the foundation of 
the world, but was manifested in these last times for you, who by him 
do believe in God that raised him up from the dead, and gave him 
glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. 

III. 18, Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by (in?) 
the spirit. 

This is the language of a man who sincerely believed that Christ 
had been raised from the dead. But tbe testimony to his having 
appeared again in a bodily form is wanting. Peter does not say 
or imply that he had seen Jesus alive again ; and at verses 7 and 
13, ch. i., he speaks of his appearing as an event still to come. 
" That the trial of your faith might be found unto praise, and 
honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." " Hope to 
the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revela- 
tion of Jesus Christ." 

The Epistle of James does not mention the resurrection of 
Jesus. 

Neither do the Epistles of John, nor that of Jude, allude to it. 

The reasons for concluding that Matthew the apostle did not 
write the Gospel under his name have been stated. 

John remains the only one of the twelve apostles who can be 
said to have asserted that he had seen Jesus alive after his death ; 
and the reason for supposing this apostle capable of fiction have 
been considered. 

The argument, therefore, that a disbelief of the resurrection of 
Christ renders it necessary to attribute wilful falsehood to the 
twelve apostles rests on an over-statement. This charge need 
only apply to John. The extent of deception proveable upon 
Peter only amounts to this, — that he allowed stories which he 
knew to be false to become current, without leaving on record his 
contradiction of them. But it will be seen shortly that there is 
reason to believe that Peter did not himself confirm these stories. 
With respect to the other apostles, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, 
Thomas, the two Jameses, Matthew, Simon Zelotes, Jude, and 
Matthias, it is seen that we have little or no testimony from them 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 163 

upon the point in question. It seems probable that they, as well 
as Peter and John, at first treated the stories of the appearance of 
Jesns as idle tales, but in the end allowed them to pass current 
without protest. In the perplexity occasioned by the removal of 
the body of Jesus in a manner unkown to them, they might easily 
be led to believe some of these tales ; and for such of them as 
they could not but know to be false, the honour of the church 
might be in later times a sufficient motive for silence at least. 

In all parties, and particularly such as are hard pressed by 
opponents, men are unwilling to produce an appearance of disunion 
by contradicting their associates. They would rather let their 
party bear the burden of some extravagant but well-meant asser- 
tions, than cool the zeal of valuable adherents by an ill-timed 
rigour. The apostles having preached that Jesus was raised from 
the dead, their followers soon spread accounts of his having 
appeared to them in visions or otherwise. Perhaps some of the 
apostles believed that they had had such visions : at any rate, it 
was not to be expected that they should feel much offended at such 
rumours, or that they should take much pains to prove their false- 
hood. They were intent upon proving that their master was the 
Messiah, and had risen from the dead ; and it might appear to 
them harsh and unnecessary to contradict stories which assisted 
the faith of the multitude. 

It may be asked, If Jesus had not really appeared to them, what 
was their motive for preaching so earnestly the novel doctrine of 
his resurrection ? Why should they make this the most promi- 
nent topic in almost every speech and writing ? The answer is, 
that, without this doctrine, their cause must be given up. A 
crucified malefactor was not the Messiah of the prophets ; and if 
all they could say for Jesus ended in this, their claim for him 
would seem to bear absurdity on the face of it. But that he had 
risen, ascended into heaven, and was soon to come again, opened 
a very different view of the matter ; he might then still be the 
Messiah, and his crucifixion, which for a moment had appeared 
even to themselves an end of their hopes, became a very trifling 
objection. The version of the Messiahship which allowed of the 
continuance of their warmly-cherished projects and attachments, 
would be eagerly welcomed. The difficulties in the eyes of more 
cool observers would only add to the ardour of earnest partizans, 
as affording scope for the exercise of faith. The unwillingness 
of the disciples to renounce a cause to which they were so 
strongly engaged might thus of itself have begun to suggest the 



164 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

idea of a resurrection ; but if we add to this the disappearance of 
the body, of which they had ocular demonstration, followed by re- 
ports of his having appeared, which came to their ears, the evi- 
dence of the resurrection of Jesus might easily seem to men in 
their circumstances so strong as to lead them to class it amongst 
the things which they had seen and heard. Thus their master was 
proved to them to be the Messiah by the resurrection from the 
dead, and thus they must prove him so to others. 

II. Paul did not join the church till some time after the death 
of Jesus, and could therefore only say what he had been told con- 
cerning his resurrection ; but as he was the founder of Gentile 
Christianity, the nature of his testimony forms an important fea- 
ture in the inquiry. 

The grounds on which he embraced the cause of the church 
were, according to his own statement, the direction of the Holy 
Spirit, and his belief that the Messiahship of Jesus fulfilled the 
prophets. "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man 
speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that 
no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost," 
1 Cor. xii. 3.* " Whereof (the church) I am made a minister 
according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you, 
to fulfil the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid 
from ages, and from generations, but now is made manifest to his 
saints ; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the 
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles ; which is Christ in you, 
the hope of glory," Col. i. 25— 27.f 

But, besides the motives which men acknowledge to themselves, 
they are often unconsciously actuated by others arising from their 
position and character. And in the case of Paul, it is reasonable 
to conjecture that an active and enterprising spirit, which ren- 
dered the task of proselytism and the administration of church 
affairs in reality a pleasure rather than a burden ; an enlarged 
understanding, which perceived and overleaped the narrow boun- 
daries of the Mosaic or orthodox Judaism ; a turn for ingenious 
disputation, which made the search for new meanings of the 
Scriptures a congenial employment ; a vivid imagination, which 
was gratified by the romance of the Messiah's advent ; and his 



* See also Eph. i. 17 ; Gal. i. 16 ; ii. 2 ; 2 Cor. i. 21, 22 ; 1 Cor. ii. 10 
•15. 
f See also Rom. i. 2 ; xvi. 2G. 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 165 

Pharisaic belief of the resurrection of the dead ; that all this 
unknown to himself, or unconsciously included by him in the 
operation of the Spirit, — assisted Paul's conversion to the rising 
branch the Essene sect. 

He nowhere states, however, that his conversion was owing to 
the strong evidence which the followers of Jesus were able to bring 
of their Master's miracles and appearance since his death ; for he 
says, that Peter, James, and John, who were the very persons to 
give such information, added nothing to him. Gal. ii. 6, 9. There 
are no indications in his Epistles that he investigated the evidence 
of the alleged facts in a calm and judicial manner, and that he 
made this investigation the foundation of his new faith. In this 
case the company of the eye-witnesses would have been most 
interesting to him ; he would have diligently collected particulars 
from them, compared their different accounts, and eagerly sought 
any one who could bring to light additional circumstances. But 
he says, after speaking of his persecuting, " But when it pleased 
God to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the 
heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood : neither 
went I up to Jerusalem, to them which were apostles before me ; 
but I went unto Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then 
after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode 
with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save 
James the Lord's brother. Now the things which I write unto 
you, behold, before God, I lie not. Afterwards I came unto the 
regions of Syria and Cilicia, and was unknown by face unto the 
churches of Judea, which were in Christ : but they heard only that 
he, which persecuted us in times past, now preached the faith 
which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me. Then, 
fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem, with Barnabas, 
and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and 
communicated unto them that Gospel which I preach among the 
Gentiles .... But of those who seemed to be somewhat, (from verse 
9, evidently Peter, James, and John,) they added nothing to me." 
Gal. i. ii. 

Thus the convert of the greatest talents and learning in the 
apostolic times, who had all facilities of access to the apostles, not 
only did not attribute his conversion to their testimony, but boasts 
that he hardly came into their company during the process. With 
what eagerness would a modern inquirer seek Peter, and James 
the Lord's brother ! But Paul, three years after he had begun to 
entertain the subject, cared so little for the information which they 



166 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

were able to give, that he merely saw James, did not visit most of 
the apostles, and, as if to show that the fifteen days which he 
spent with Peter could not possibly have added much to him, he 
points out the differences which he had with that apostle, and 
frequently intimates that he himself ought not to be considered 
behind the chiefest of the apostles. 

He is so anxious to make it appear that his own doctrine was 
mainly original, and independent of the assistance of those fol- 
lowers and relations of Christ — those to whom Christ himself had 
given instructions how and what to preach — that he says he com- 
municated his Gospel to them.* We may therefore conclude, that 
in addition to the slight information which he might have obtained 
of Christ's history, whilst persecuting the church, (and it cannot 
be supposed that he then took much trouble to inquire into the 
matter,) he owed his conversion to his own reflections, to visions, 
and to his interpretation of the Scriptures. These sources are 
enough to account for the doctrines which he preached ; the ideas 
that the Messiah had come in the person of Jesus, that he had 
been raised from the dead, and was soon to appear, having been 
rendered notorious by the preaching of the disciples, his own 
resources enabled Paul to complete the scheme on which he mainly 
insists in his writings, viz. that faith in this Messiah superseded 
the law of Moses, and permitted an union between Jews and 
Gentiles. 

However often, then, Paul may assert that Christ was raised 
from the dead, and although we suppose that in all cases he meant 
to include the idea that he had appeared to his followers, the value 
of his belief depends on our estimation of the sources from which 
it proceeded. Now, whatever they were, they produced another 
belief in which he was evidently mistaken, viz. that Christ was 
soon to appear from heaven ;f and the very consideration which 



* See also Rom. ii. 16 ; xvi. 25 ; 2 Cor. iv. 3 ; Gal. i. 11, 12. But I 
certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after 
man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the 
revelation of Jesus Christ. 2. Tim. ii. 8. 

f This doctrine is urged by Paul with nearly as much force as that of 
the Messiah's resurrection, and often in conjunction with it : — 

1 Cor. i. 7, So that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Phil. iii. 20, For our conversation is in heaven, 
from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ ; — iv. 5, 
The Lord is at hand. 1 Thess. i. 9, 10, How ye turned to serve the Hving 
and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 167 

would have placed his belief of the former doctrine in a different 
light, viz. that it depended on the evidence given to a past fact, 
he does not allow ns to entertain. 

It is remarkable that the Pharisees, although hostile to Jesus 
in his lifetime, as a reformer and claimant of the throne of David, 
yet became more than quiescent, even favourably disposed towards 
his followers after his death.* Whence could this arise, but from 
the new doctrine which the disciples then began to spread, of the 
Messiah's resurrection ? This was such an interesting argument 
on the Pharisaic side of that great question of the day, the resur- 
rection of the dead, that in proportion as it provoked the enmity 
of the Sadducees, it conciliated towards the disciples the good-will 
of their opponents. If it could be urged with any plausibility, 
that the Messiah, the representative of the nation, had been raised 
from the dead, this was a new and decisive manner of settling the 
question ; which tendency of the doctrine was of itself an evidence 
on its behalf. And if a few passages from the Scriptures could 
be adapted to it, this would be, according to the method of reason- 
ing then used by the Jewish sects, more pertinent evidence than 
the testimony of a crowd of eye-witnesses. All true sons of Israel 
were bound to consider the Scriptures as infallible, whether con- 
firmed or not by the senses. If the disciples could but make it 
appear that they only said the things which Moses and the pro- 
phets wrote, their cause was gained, and further evidence rendered 
superfluous, in the eyes of many of the most devout Jews. 

Paul's manner of arguing is exactly such as might be expected 
from a converted Pharisee under such circumstances. He speaks 
of the resurrection of the dead as a thing to be believed on its 
own grounds : " Why should it be thought a thing incredible with 
you that God should raise the dead ? " He labours to prove that 
the Messiah's resurrection is the fulfilment of prophecy. " I 



the dead ; — iii. 13, iv. 14 — 18, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose 
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive 
and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are 

asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven then we 

which are alive and remain, shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the 
air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one 
another with these words ;— v. 33 ; 2 Thess. i. 7, 8 ; 1 Tim. v. 14. 

* Gamaliel the Pharisee was their advocate. Excepting the case of Paul 
at Stephen's trial, there is no instance of persecution from the Pharisees in 
the Acts. They befriended Paul against the Sadducees, chap, xxiii. 



168 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

continue unto this day witnessing both to small and great, saying 
none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did 
say should come : that Christ should suffer, and that he should 
be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light 
unto the people, and to the Gentiles." And only twice we find 
him alluding to the accounts delivered by the disciples. Acts 
xiii. 30;* 1 Cor. xv. 5—7. 

When he had occasion to allude to the personal history of Jesus, 
he must of necessity repeat what was said by his followers. On 
joining the church, he received what was currently believed in it 
concerning Jesus, and this included some stories of his appearance 
after death. But, from his manner of introducing these stories, 
it appears that he received them rather because they agreed with 
the doctrines which he and the church preached, than as the basis 
on which these doctrines themselves rested. 

1 Cor. xv. " Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel 
which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and 
wherein ye stand ; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in 
memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 
For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, 
how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures : and 
that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according 
to the Scriptures : and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the 
twelve. After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren 
at once ; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but 
some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James ; then 
of all the apostles. And, last of all, he was seen of me also, as of 
one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that 
am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the 
church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am : and 
his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain ; but I 



* I do not add here Acts xxvi. 26, " For this thing was not done in a 
corner," because it seems that by " this thing " Paul means the whole 
transactions relating to Jesus as commonly known to the Jews, and these 
ended in his crucifixion. " The king knoweth of these things." Paul 
could not intend to appeal to Agrippa's knowledge of the fact of Jesus's 
resurrection, when the whole church admitted that Jesus only appeared to 
his own disciples. To prove this point he has recourse to the prophets ; 
which accounts for the observation of Festus, to whom such a mode of 
argument would very likely seem extravagant ; but a Eoman judge would 
hardly have called Paul mad for appealing to the evidence of credible 
witnesses. 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 169 

laboured more abundantly than they all : yet not I, but the grace 
of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, 
so we preach, and so ye believed." 

From this it appears, that one reason which induced Paul to 
believe the resurrection of Christ was his persuasion that it was 
according to the Scriptures. A second was the appearance of 
Christ to himself, which could only have been in a vision, when, 
as he says, it pleased God to reveal his Son to him. A third 
reason was his already-formed Pharisaic belief in the resurrection 
of the dead. Thus prepared, he could not hesitate to receive also 
the stories of the appearances of Jesus to the other apostles. 
But it does not appear, even in this place, that his belief was 
founded on the evidence afforded to him, that those appearances 
were real occurrences. His classing them with his own vision 
puts them even in a more doubtful light than that in which they 
appear elsewhere. 

It is to be observed, also, that there are no intimations in the 
Old Testament that the Messiah was to rise the third day. Since 
Paul, therefore, could take up this notion so lightly, he might 
have also adopted the stories of the appearances to Cephas and 
the others on no better grounds.* 

From the little use which he makes of these appearances in 
what follows, it seems clear that his confidence in them was not 
that of a man who had fully investigated them, and become satis- 
fied of their truth. 

Ver. 12— 20, " Now if Christ be preached that he rose from 
the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection 
of the dead ? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then 
is Christ not risen : and if Christ be not risen, then is our preach- 
ing vain, and your faith is also vain : yea, and we are found false 
witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he raised 
up Christ ; whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised : and if Christ 
be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. Then 
they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in 
this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most 



* It is generally allowed that Paul is a fervid and imaginative, rather 
than a matter-of-fact writer. Even in the favourite argument from pro- 
phecy, his inaccuracy in quotation and interpretation equals almost that of 
Matthew. 



170 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become 
the first-fruits of them that slept." 

This is the language of a man whose attachment to the doctrine 
of the resurrection of the dead had contributed principally to his 
belief in that of Christ. Deny the former, and the latter falls. 
" If the dead rise not, then is not Christ risen." Or, supposing 
that Paul merely intends to represent the absurd consequence of 
his opponents' assertion, that which he arrives at is only this, — 
deny the resurrection of the dead, and you are obliged to deny 
also Christ's resurrection ; you are thus at variance with an esta- 
blished doctrine of the church of which you are members, a 
doctrine which I preached, and which ye' believed ; you make our 
preaching and your faith vain. That verse 20, " Now is Christ 
risen," only expresses a reference to the doctrine of the church, 
appears by comparing it with verse 12, " if Christ be preached 
that he rose from the dead." 

Very different would be the language of a man who had ac- 
quired by investigation a conviction of the reality of the appear- 
ances of Jesus. Such an one would say, Though there be no 
resurrection of the dead in general, yet Christ is risen ; for this is 
a notorious fact, resting on the indisputable testimony of Cephas, 
the apostles, and the five hundred, many of whom are ready now 
to attest it, and thus leave no shadow of doubt concerning it. He 
would confine himself to proving that a general resurrection must 
be inferred from that of Christ, and not go on to contemplate the 
consequences of an impossible case, viz. that Christ was not risen. 
To plead in favour of Christ's resurrection from the injurious 
consequences of denying it, instead of appealing to it as an incon- 
trovertible fact, is choosing the weaker line of argument ; and as 
this is the only place in Paul's writings where he mentions the 
appearance of Jesus to the apostles, we are left to doubt whether 
he could have used the stronger.* 



* It is true that the words, " But now is Christ risen," would meet this 
•objection, if they could be understood in the sense of an appeal to a well- 
known fact. But their force depends entirely upon this ; and the following 
reasons render it probable that they only appeal to a doctrine of the 
church ; in which case their sense is, " But now, we have preached, 
and ye have believed, that Christ is risen, and therefore you cannot now 
dispute it." 

Firstly. Verses 2, 11, 12, express this sense, and the phrase "but 
now" implies a return to the position with which the argument com- 
menced. 

Secondly. The words are the beginning of an elevated train of thought, 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 171 

Paul's mode of thinking seems to resemble exactly that of many- 
Christians of later times. If the resurrection of the dead be 
denied, the first thought is, that this contradicts an essential 
doctrine of Christianity ; " our faith then is vain ; the apostles 
preached that Christ was raised, and so we have believed." They 
believe, no doubt sincerely, on this ground ; but, like Paul, not 
having thought it necessary to examine closely the evidence of the 
fact, they turn instinctively to other arguments. So Paul falls 
into an argument of natural reason common to all ages, in support 
of a resurrection, viz. the sufferings of good men, which he urges 
in a forcible and affecting manner, "If in this life only we have 
hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." 

As Paul himself did not believe the doctrine of Christ's resur- 
rection from an investigation of the apostles' testimony, so neither 
did he require his hearers to believe it on this ground. They were 
to receive it as a matter of faith. As Abraham believed a thing 
improbable in itself, because it was necessary to fulfil the promises 
of God, so was the church required to believe the resurrection of 
Christ, because, in Paul's scheme, it fulfilled the prophets. And 
this faith was to proceed from hearing himself, to whom the doc- 
trine had been revealed, and also from the operation of the Spirit 
upon themselves. See Rom. iv. 20 — -24 ; x. 8 — 17 ; 1 Cor. ii. 5, 
10 — 15 ; 2 Cor. v. 5 ; Eph. ii. 8. The modern Christian, who 
has been accustomed to believe the resurrection of Christ on the 
supposed strength of its evidence, is astonished to find throughout 
Paul's writings no passage recommending this as a basis for faith : 
on the contrary, the repeated exhortations to avoid the words of 
fleshly wisdom, and to seek the influences of the Spirit, seem to 
discourage such a mode of conversion. 

On the whole, Paul's testimony to the resurrection of Christ is 
of little weight, because he appears to have paid no attention to 
the question of the evidence, but to have believed on grounds 
which are not approved by the modern rational inquirer. 

III. The undisputed apostolic writings affording thus very little 



■which certainly does not appeal to facts, but either to the doctrines of the 
church, or to Paul's own revelations concerning the coming of the kingdom 
of God. 

Thirdly. An instance of similar reasoning occurs at verse 29, where 
Paul argues that there must be a resurrection of the dead, because other- 
wise baptism for the dead, an established rite of the church, -would be in 
vain. "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the 
dead rise not at all ? Why are they then baptized for the dead ? " 



172 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

evidence as to the point in question, we are left to depend for 
particulars concerning the appearances of Jesus on writings of a 
later date and less certain authenticity, viz. the four Gospels, and 
some fragments of writings of less repute. Thus, if we except the 
Gospel of John, we have not, on this momentous point, the 
evidence of eye-witnesses, but merely second-hand and hearsay 
information. Let us collect together in one view all the accounts 
remaining of the resurrection of Jesus : — 

Matt, xxviii. " In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward 
the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to 
Bee the sepulchre. And behold there was a great earthquake ; for the 
angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the 
stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, 
and his raiment white as snow : and for fear of him the keepers did shake, 
and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the 
women, Fear not ye : for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 
He is not here ; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the 
Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the 
dead : and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee ; there shall ye see 
him ; lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre 
with fear and great joy ; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as 
they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. 
And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said 
Jesus unto them, Be not afraid : go tell my brethren that they go into 
Galilee, and there shall they see me. Now when they were going, behold, 
some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all 
the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, 
and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, 
Say ye, His disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept. 
And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and secure 
you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught ; and this say- 
ing is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. Then the eleven 
disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed 
them. And when they saw him they worshipped him : but some doubted. 
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me 
in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : 
and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." 

Mark xvi. "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and 
Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they 
might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning, the first day 
of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And 
they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the 
door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone 
was rolled away ; for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, 
they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white 
garment ; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not 
affrighted : ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified : he is risen ; 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 173 

he is not here ; behold the place where they laid hirn. But go your way ; 
tell his disciples, and Peter, that he goeth before you into Galilee : there 
shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled 
from the sepulchre ; for they trembled and were amazed : neither said they 
any thing to any man ; for they were afraid." 

Ver. 9. " Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he 
appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 
And she went and told them that had been with him, as theymourned 
and wept. And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen 
of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of 
them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told 
it unto the residue ; neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared 
unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief 
and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him 
after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and 
preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, 
shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall be damned. And these 
signs shall follow them that believe : In my name shall they cast out devils ; 
they shall speak with new tongues ; — they shall take up serpents ; and if 
they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them ; — they shall lay hands 
on the sick, and they shall recover. So then, after the Lord had spoken 
unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of 
God. And they went forth, and preached eveiy where, the Lord working 
with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." 

Luke xxiv. "Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the 
morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had 
prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled 
away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of 
the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass as they were much perplexed there- 
about, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments : And as they 
were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, 
Why seek ye the living among the dead ? He is not here, but is risen : 
remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The 
Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be cruci- 
fied, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and 
returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and 
to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother 
of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things 
unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and 
they believed them not. Then arose Peter and ran unto the sepulchre ; 
and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and 
departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. And 
behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, 
which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked 
together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, 
while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, 
and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not 
know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are 
these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one 
of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering, said unto him, Art thou only 
a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to 
pass there in these days 1 And he said unto them, What things ? And they 



174 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty 
in deed and word before God and all the people : and how the chief priests 
and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified 
him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed 
Israel : and besides all this, to-day is the third day since these things were 
done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, 
which were early at the sepulchre ; and when they found not his body, they 
came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he 
was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, 
and found it even so as the women had said : but him they saw not. Then 
he said unto them, fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets 
have spoken : ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter 
into his glory 1 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded 
unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. And they 
drew nigh unto the village whither they went : and he made as though he 
would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with 
us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to 
tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he 
took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes 
were opened, and they knew him ; and he vanished out of their sight. And 
they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked 
with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures 1 And they 
rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven 
gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen 
indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done 
in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as 
they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto 
them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and sup- 
posed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye 
troubled ? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts ? Behold my hands 
and my feet, that it is I myself : handle me, and see ; for a spirit hath not 
flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he 
shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, 
and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat ? And they gave 
him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it and did 
eat before them. And he said unto them, These are the words which I 
spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, 
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the 
Psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they 
might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, 
and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third 
day : And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his 
name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of 
these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you ; but 
tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on 
high. And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, 
and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was 
parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, 
and returned to Jerusalem with great joy ; and were continually hi the 
temple, praising and blessing God. Amen." 

Acts i. " The former treatise have I made, Theophilus, of all that 
Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day In which he was taken up, 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 175 

after that lie through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the' 
apostles whom he had chosen : to whom also he shewed himself alive after 
his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and 
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God : and being 
assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not 
depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith 
he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water ; but ye 
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they 
therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou 
at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel ? And he said unto them, 
It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath 
put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jeru- 
salem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of 
the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he 
was taken up ; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while 
they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold two men 
stood by them in white apparel ; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why 
stand ye gazing up into heaven 1 This same Jesus, which is taken up from 
you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into 
heaven." 

John xx. "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, 
when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away 
from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and 
to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have 
taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they 
have laid him. Peter therefore went forth and that other disciple, and 
came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together : and the other disciple 
did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, 
and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying ; yet went he not in. Then 
cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth 
the linen clothes lie. and the napkin that was about his head, not lying 
with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then 
went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he 
saw and believed. For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must 
rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their 
own home. But Mary stood without at the sepidchre weeping ; and as she 
wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels 
in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the 
body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her. Woman, why weepest 
thou t She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and 
I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she 
turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was 
Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest 
thou ? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou 
have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take 
him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith 
unto him, Kabboni : which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch 
me not ; for I am not yet ascended to my Father ; but go to my brethren, 
and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father ; and to my 
God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she 
had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. Then 



176 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors 
were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came 
Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 
And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. 
Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus 
to them again, Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent me, even so 
send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith 
unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost : whose soever sins ye remit, they 
are remitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. 
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when 
Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen 
the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print 
of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my 
hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his 
disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the 
doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands ; 
and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side ; and be not faithless 
but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and 
my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me thou 
hast believed : blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, 
which are not written in this book : but these are written, that ye might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God : and that believing ye 
might have life through his name." 

John xxi. " After these things, Jesus showed himself again unto the dis- 
ciples at the sea of Tiberias ; and on this wise showed he himself. There 
were together, Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of 
Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 
Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also 
go with thee. They went forth and entered into a ship immediately ; and 
that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus 
stood on the shore : but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then 
Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat 1 They answered him, 
No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and 
ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it 
for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple Avhom Jesus loved, saith 
unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the 
Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him (for he was naked), and did cast 
himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship (for they 
were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits), dragging the 
net with fishes. As soon theii as they were come to land, they saw a fire of 
coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Come 
and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou ? know- 
ing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth 
them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed 
himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. So when 
they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest 
thou me more than these ? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest 
that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith unto him 
again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? He saith unto 
him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 1TV 

my sheep. He saith unto him the third time. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest 
thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, 
Lovest thou me ? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things ; 
thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, 
and walkedst whither thou wouldest : but when thou shalt be old, thou 
shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee 
whither thou wouldest not. This spake he signifying by what death he 
should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, 
Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth that disciple whom Jesus 
loved following, which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, 
which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter, seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, 
and what shall this man do ? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till 
I come, what is that to thee 1 follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad 
among the brethren, that that disciple should not die ; yet Jesus said not unto 
him. He shall not die ; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that 
to thee? This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these 
things ; and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many 
other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written, every 
one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that 
should be written. Amen." 

Paul. 1 Cor. xv. 3 — 8. " For I delivered unto you first of all that which 
I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scrip- 
tures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according 
to the Scriptures : and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. 
After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once ; of whom 
the greater part remain uuto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After 
that he was seen of James ; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was 
seen of me also, as of one born out of due time." 

Gospel according to the Hebrews, quoted by Jerome : — " Very soon after 
the Lord was risen he went to James, and showed himself to him ; for 
James had solemnly sworn that he would eat no bread from the time that 
he had drunk the cup of the Lord, till he should see him risen from among 
them that sleep." It is added a little after, "Bring, saith the Lord, a table 
and bread ;" and lower, " He took bread and blessed, and brake it, and then 
gave it to James the Just, and said to him, My brother, eat thy bread. For 
the Son of Man is risen from among them that sleep." 

There are obviously many contradictions in these different 
accounts ; but the principal ones agree very nearly in this — that 
Mary Magdalene and other women went early to the sepulchre, 
and found that the body was gone ; upon which they returned to 
tell Peter and the other disciples ; that Peter and others went to 
the tomb aud found that it was so ; after which there arose reports 
of Jesus having been seen in different places. 

The non-appearance of the body after the Sabbath in the 
sepulchre where it had been deposited the night previous to that 
Sabbath, is one of those incidents which bears a very strong 
appearance of truth. For Jesus was certainly put to death ; — 

M 



liS ON THE KESURRECTION AND 

evidence direct and indirect concurs to prove that he was taken 
from the cross the same evening ; his body must have been depo- 
sited in some place, and the accounts before us, that this was in a 
tomb in a garden near at hand, are so far consistent and probable. 
That some of his followers, especially the women who had seen 
where he was laid, should seek the sepulchre after a short interval, 
is so probable, that the contrary would appear most apathetic 
negligence. Then — they must have found the body there, or not. 
Not the slightest hint has transpired, nor any circumstance indi- 
cating that the dead body of Jesus was found in the tomb : but all 
agree, and with narratives containing many natural circumstances, 
that it was not there.* 

Consequently, — the body was taken away by some one in the 
interval between the Friday night and the Sunday morning, (unless 
we admit that it was miraculously resuscitated, which will be con- 
sidered soon). But by whom it was taken away is not so clear. 
The question seems to lie between those who put it there, and the 
disciples. 

The report which we are told prevailed among the Jews forty 
years later, that the disciples had stolen away the body, agrees 
with the unanimous admission of the latter so far, that it was not 
found where it had been deposited. But we must hesitate in 
admitting that Peter and the rest of the eleven were those disciples 
to whom the charge of the Jews should be attached. 

The subsequent conduct of these more immediate and attached 
followers of Jesus, their boldness and apparent sincerity in assert- 
ing publicly the resurrection and speedy re-appearance of Jesus, 
the style of earnestness in their writings (of which the first epistle 
of Peter is a striking instance), the large admixture of lofty 
enthusiasm which must have been present with men capable of 
attempts to proselyte the world, render it difficult to believe that 
they were guilty of so gross a deception. They have rather the 
air of men self-deluded than of contriving impostors. To exag- 
gerate and somewhat embellish facts in subsequent narrations has 
been done by men to a great extent well-meaning and honest ; but 
to contrive the removal and secret disposal of the body, with a view 
to publishing its resurrection, betokens a greater degree of fraud, 
and of a lower kind, than appears to agree with the characters of 



* Especially the account in John sx. 1 — 10. The story following, of what 
happened to Mary Magdalene when alone, is distinct, and evidently not so 
much within the writer's means of knowledge. 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 179 

the apostles. And short of this it is not easy to see what motive 
they could have for exerting themselves so promptly to remove the 
body ; for it was already en : mbed in a decent nanner by friendly 
hands, and a hurried secret removal could not add to the honours 
of sepulture. 

It would be too much, perhaps, to assert that it was impossible 
for the apostles to execute such a purpose, if they had been inclined ; 
for Matthew's unconfirmed story of the guard has every character 
of a subsequent legend, and neither was the garden entirely inac- 
cessible, nor the stone immoveable by human efforts. Still some 
degree of privacy would appear to have attached to a garden and 
a sepulchre, to whomsoever they belonged ; * and the superinten- 
dence of the burial by members of the council would give to the 
first deposition of the body a degree of sanction, which it would 
imply some audacity, or at least a cogent motive, on the part of 
the apostles, immediately to disturb. There are no indications of 
such an attempt on their part. Tbey were taken by surprise by 
the apprehension of Jesus ; they endeavoured on the first impulse 
to save themselves by flight, or by mingling unobserved in the 
crowds ; the chief of them, Peter, had denied that he belonged to 
the company of Jesus ; they did not even accompany the body to 
the tomb,f fearing probably that tbis might point them out for 
capture. The interval of one day must have been very fully occu- 
pied in re-assembling, ascertaining what further danger there 
might be to themselves, listening to reports, and resuming courage 
to fix upon some plan. 

On the other hand, Joseph of Arimathea, who was able to have 
the body placed in the tomb, was also very well able to have it 
removed. If the garden were his own, no one else indeed could 
do this with equal security. Any watch appointed by the Sanhe- 
drim, (which part of Matthew's story however appears to be legen- 



* Matthew alone says that the tomb was the property of Joseph, and he 
alone also gives him the title of " a rich man." It would be unsafe to rely 
very confidently on the fact of Joseph's proprietorship, because Matthew 
may have inserted these two particulars in order to produce an apparent 
conformity with Isaiah liii. 9. 

There were some common burial places, called the " graves of the sons of 
the people," Jer. xxvi. 23 ; but sepulchres in groves and gardens appear to 
have belonged to individuals. Jahn's Heb. Ant. §. 206. 

f The mention of the women as being those who saw where the body was 
laid is so distinct in all the four, that it seems to exclude the male 
disciples. 



180 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

dary,*) would probably have obeyed rather than have resisted him. 
He had the co-operation of another member of the council, Nico- 
demus. The complete silence of one who had more power than 
the disciples both to act and to speak, — the absence of his testimony 
when it might have been so useful one way or the other, — his 
retiring suddenly from a transaction in which he had begun to be 
conspicuous, — all this, in his case, is strongly significant. 

History loses sight of Joseph and Nicodemus exactly at the 
time when they ceased to have any open intercourse with the dis- 
ciples, viz., when they had embalmed the body of Jesus, and 
allowed the women to see where it was laid. Thus they were the 
parties whom we last saw in charge of the body, and it is for them 
to give an account of it. But as, from that moment, they have 
shrunk from public notice, conjecture alone is able to follow up 
their examination, and to gain an insight into their counsels and 
doings on the evening of the day of the crucifixion, and the 
Sabbath which followed it. On the close of that eventful day they 
could not have been undisturbed or inactive, for a more perilous 
situation than theirs could hardly be conceived. They had been 
in secret communication with the Galilean who had just been 
executed for the treason of aiming at the throne of the Jews ; and 



* Matthew's story of the guard bears these marks of fiction : Firstly, 
The Pharisees are made to say, " We remember that that deceiver said, 
while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again." From John 
xx. 9, it appears that Jesus had never said this, even to his own disciples. 
(See chap, xv.) Secondly, The anticipation of the Pharisees that the last 
error, i. e. the belief in the resurrection of Jesus, would be worse than the 
first, or the belief in his Messiahship, was too far-fetched for men in their 
circumstances. They were more likely to rest contented with having got 
rid of a supposed mover of sedition, than to act further upon what must 
then have appeared a very doubtful conjecture. If the idea had occurred 
to any of them, that the disciples would endeavour to spread the belief of 
their master's resurrection, they could hardly be so acute as to foresee that 
this would in time grow into a doctrine more important than that of his 
Messiahship. Thirdly, The representation of the Pharisees being admitted 
to be fictitious, the obtaining of the guard, which is said to have arisen 
from it, must be considered fictitious also. Fourthly, the writer of this 
Gospel endeavours to enhance the interest of the crucifixion by inserting 
many marvels resting on his own authority alone, such as the dream of 
Pilate's wife, two earthquakes, the rising of the saints, &c. Fifthly, he had 
an additional motive for inventing this story, viz. to answer an objection 
of opponents in his own time. Sixthly, This story is not alluded to by the 
other three evangelists, nor any where else in the New Testament ; although 
it would have formed a very important feature in all the accounts of the 
resurrection. 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 181 

the examination of his followers, or even an indiscreet word from 
them, might proclaim to the governor, or some hostile member of 
the Sanhedrim, that they too were his disciples. That which 
constituted the merit of Joseph in the eyes of the disciples, his 
having " himself waited for the kingdom of God," would implicate 
him in the crime of Jesus ; for the crucifixion of the King was 
equivalent to denouncing the guilt of all who participated in seek- 
ing the kingdom. The fishermen of Galilee might be allowed 
to escape unnoticed ; but a counsellor and a ruler could not be 
neglected, if the charge of treason were once directed against 
them. One of those tumults to which the Jewish populace were 
so prone might be excited by the friends of Jesus : this would 
stimulate the governor to a more rigid investigation of the affair, 
and to more sweeping executions. Or, supposing even that no 
such attempt were made, the continual resort of the disciples to 
the tomb in his possession, or under his superintendence, must 
draw attention to Joseph, and strengthen suspicion against him. 
The disciples must be dismissed ; but in what manner ? To forbid 
them access to the garden, or to renounce them harshly, might 
provoke the disclosures which he was anxious to avoid. 

The accounts before us supply the rest. The women came to 
the tomb early, and found that the body was gone. On a subse- 
quent* visit they found a young man there, who, if he were not 
an angel, must have been some one employed by Joseph ; for who 
can suppose that he would have allowed an unauthorized person 
to be in this important charge at so critical a time ? This person 
told the women that Jesus was not there, and added directions to 
his disciples to go into Galilee ; of which message the version that 
has reached us is, that Jesus was risen and gone into Galilee, 
whither his disciples were to follow him.f 

Thus, if the accounts be disentangled from those contradictory 
miraculous additions which have every appearance of being the 
fictions of later times, the facts which remain, and a natural 



* Compare Mark svi. 5 with John xx. 12. 

f I have some hesitation in ascribing to Joseph the message in the terms 
in which we find it, both because it would imply more far-fetched artifice 
than the rest of the proceeding, and because these terms may merely reflect 
the subsequent belief of the church. But so far is agreed, that the body 
was gone ; it is highly probable that Joseph directed some one in his gar- 
den to tell the visitants that it was not there ; and not improbable that he 
endeavoured to induce the disciples to return at once into Galilee. 



182 ON THE EESURKECTION AND 

conjecture which links them together, offer an easy solution of the 
mystery. 

The question concerning the disposal of the body of Jesus does 
not appear to have excited much attention at the time ; for we 
nowhere learn that any search was instituted for it by the rest of 
the Jewish rulers ; which certainly they would have done if they 
had thought it worth while ; for it cannot be supposed that they 
believed that Jesus was actually risen on the mere report of some 
of the disciples. But there was, in fact, no reason for such a 
search ; they were satisfied with having put Jesus out of their 
way, since he appeared to be a political as well as a religious 
innovator ; and then they had more pressing matters to think of. 
The disciples did not appear to be men of dangerous characters ; 
and being deprived of their chief, might very well be left to think 
and say what they pleased concerning his body. A belief in its 
resurrection might very well be allowed them, provided they ab- 
stained from efforts to avenge him. Whereas the exhibition of 
the dead body would have exasperated them, and, perhaps, the 
multitudes with whom Jesus had been popular. The best policy 
was to let the affair die away. The formation of a new religious 
society by the few followers of Jesus was not important enough to 
occupy much of their attention, particularly as, at first, they did 
not seem to differ much from the other Essenes ; and when, after 
thirty years, they had become numerous enough to make it worth 
while to disprove their assertion of the resurrection, it was not 
easy for any one to find the body, unless he had the assistance of 
Joseph or Nicodemus, which they were not likely to afford. The 
opponents of the Christians were therefore obliged to say, that the 
disciples had stolen away the body ; which indeed corresponds 
with the explanation given above as much as we could expect a 
popular report to do at the distance of forty years ; for both 
Joseph and Nicodemus were his disciples secretly, and had some 
connexion with the rest. 

But (to pursue this subject as far as we can with the help of 
mere conjecture, the only method of treating it now remaining,) 
there might have been another important reason for the silence 
and apparent apathy of the Jewish rulers, respecting the body of 
Jesus immediately after the crucifixion. It is that others of them 
besides Nicodemus, perhaps all who had undertaken the task of 
watching the Galileans since the council in the house of Caiaphas, 
. — possibly the most influential part of the Sanhedrim, — suggested 
or connived at the proceedings of Joseph, as both expedient for 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 183 

themselves, and friendly towards their deluded countrymen. The 
priests, the Sanhedrim, and the Pharisees generally, were not 
malignantly hostile towards the followers of Jesus ; they were 
anxious doubtless, as in other cases of incipient disturbances, to 
save their more ignorant countrymen from the consequences of 
their own rashness ; for they well knew, although unable to make 
the populace fully comprehend, the strength of the iron hand upon 
them. They were unwilling to invoke the cruel remedy which 
Pilate had shown himself too ready to adopt in the cases of the 
images and of the aqueduct, the calling out of a Roman legion 
upon their countrymen. The sentiments of Joseph, Nicodemns, 
and of those Pharisees who had at first wished to avert the fate 
even of Jesus himself, (Luke xiii. 31,) may be supposed to have 
called fully in this case the more humane promptings of the Sanhe- 
drim. But not being able themselves to coerce, and doubtful of 
their ability to persuade the multitude, they were obliged to have 
recourse to manoeuvring. As they had manoeuvred to seize Jesus 
secretly in order to prevent tumult, so they were likely to adopt 
the same method in their proceedings after his apprehension. It 
is not likely that the vigilance so fully awakened fell asleep the 
instant Jesus expired. The people might not enter into their 
reasons for determining that Jesus must die for the sake of the 
nation, and it was desirable not to allow his body to continue to 
demand sympathy and revenge from the cross.* Joseph conse- 
quently sought leave to remove it the moment life could be sup- 
posed to be extinct. In the garden it was liable to be sought 
after. During the respite afforded by the Sabbath, it was removed 
again to some more hidden depository, whither the Galileans could 
not follow it. If these could be pacified, and above all induced to 
return speedily into their own province, the disaffection would 
effectually be prevented from spreading. 

The lenity shown towards the disciples when it was ascertained 
that they made no further political attempts, — the indifference, or 
very slight molestation, with which the Sanhedrim allowed them 
to preach the resurrection of Jesus for a considerable time, until 
it became associated with other unforeseen obnoxious doctrines, — 
the omission of any of the rulers, as far as we can learn, to de- 
mand the production of the body, — harmonize with these conjec- 



* The motive given in John xix. 31, viz. the approach of the Sabbath, 
was certainly sufficient to urge, in this case, conformity to the Jewish law, 
Deut. xxi. 23, although it does not exclude others. 



184 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

tures. But to whatever extent we incline to think that Joseph 
and Nicodemus had the co-operation of others of their brethren, 
the impenetrable obscurity in which the point must remain, evi- 
dently arises from this, that those who knew the most have said 
the least. If the Arimathean had been equally communicative with 
his namesake the son of Matthias, much bewilderment of the hu- 
man intellect might have been spared, and the faith of the Christian 
church either suppressed at its birth, or invigorated by more heavy 
demands. But he and his compeers were probably little aware of 
the importance which would one day attach to their testimony ; or 
if they had been so, might have been equally disinclined to furnish 
it at the expense of personal ease and security. 

This then seems to be the whole result we can arrive at. The 
Boman authorities had the power to remove the body secretly, but 
had no motive. For the disciples, the attempt must have been 
hazardous, although not clearly impracticable ; but a motive for 
it is not obvious, and it does not agree with their conduct. Joseph, 
Nicodemus, and not improbably other members of the council, had 
the power ; and motives in their case are obvious. 

IV. Let us turn to consider the disciples' own accounts, or 
rather those which have come to us as the disciples' accounts ; 
from Paul, Mark, Luke, from a writer said by Papias to be Mat- 
thew, and from the Ephesian church professing to give the words 
of John. These state that the body of Jesus became alive ay aim 
At least, one well-substantiated account of its actual appearance is 
necessary to establish such an important point. 

Mark, it is said, obtained information from Peter ; and there- 
fore it is in Mark chiefly that we should look to find the important 
testimony of the chief apostle. Now, it is plain that the last twelve 
verses of Mark have been added to what was written at first * 



* Jerome said the latter part of Mark, from ver. 9 — 16, was generally 
wanting in the Greek copies, " omnibus G-rsecise libris pene hoc capitulum 
in fine non habentibus." — Ad Hedib. Qu. iii. t. iv. 

Gregory Nyssen, A.D. 371, said that "in the most exact copies St. 
Mark's Gospel concluded with the words, chap. xvi. 8, For they were 
afraid." — In Chr. Res. or ii. t. 3. 

Irenasus, it is true, quotes ver. 19, "In fine autem evangelii ait Marcus: 
Et quidem Dominus, &c. ;" but this is not equivalent to his deliberate 
opinion that it was genuine. 

Eusebius not only says that the most accurate copies of Mark (afterwards 
he says nearly all) had the end written after the words " they were afraid ;" 
but explains the manner in which probably the supplement came to be so 
generally inserted, (ad Marin, qu. i.) 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 185 

either by a different hand, or by tbe same band at a different time ; 
and tbe original narrative, -which has been replaced or continued 
by another at the ninth verse, mentions no appearance of Jesus, 
nor any thing in itself miraculous, after the burial of Jesus. 

The first who is said to have seen Jesus is Mary Magdalene. 
But from the original part of Mark, and from Luke, it does not 
appear that she said so herself. Her first report was only, accord- 
ing to John, that the body was taken away ; according to Luke, 
that she had seen some persons at the tomb who told her he was 
risen. Matthew says for her, that Jesus met her and the other 
Mary on their first return from the tomb, and told them tbat he 
would meet the disciples in Galilee ; the very message, which, 
according to Luke, she said bad been given by the angel or angels 
at the tomb. This implies clearly an error in Matthew ; for who 
can believe that she would have contented herself with delivering 
this message of the angel, if she had already, as Matthew says, 
seen Jesus himself ? Moreover, Luke confirms his statement at 
ver. 23, that the women said only that they had seen a vision of 
angels, and not Jesus himself. This is enough to convict Matthew 
of incorrectness ; and he, not Mary Magdalene, is responsible for 
this story of Jesus's first appearance. 

John however says, that Mary came again to the sepulchre, saw 
the two angels there, and then turning round saw some one whom 
she believed at first to be the gardener, but afterwards Jesus him- 
self. Tbe particulars of this appearance differ much from that in 
Matthew ; and there is again strong reason for doubting whether 
she gave the account herself : for the seeing of the two angels 
identifies this visit with the one related bv Luke, according to 



In some copies there was this addition after the words " they were 
afraid :" "And they told briefly all the things which they mere commanded 
to Peter and those with h im, and after that, Jesus h imself sent forth through 
them, from the east to the west, the holy and incorruptible word of eternal 
salvation." But Rosemniiller says. ' ; This addition appears to have been 
made for the sake of filling up the chasm which was now found in many 
copies. Since it is not at all probable that Mark ended his book with a 
fragment at the words 'they were afraid,' we must conjecture that the 
genuine ending of the Gospel was lost ; and that it was completed at the 
end of the first or the beginning of the second century by some unknown 
person."— Scholia in Jfare. Credner calls this a second early attempt to 
complete Mark's Gospel. Einl. § 49. The same writer says respecting the 
present conclusion of Mark, ver. 9 — 16, " In few cases does the result of 
criticism take such a sure and firm stand as here ; the conclusion cannot be 
from the same author as the rest." 



186 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

whom, on returning from this visit, she did not say that she had 
seen Jesus. So that if we prefer the original part of Mark, and 
Luke, to Matthew, John, and the supplement to Mark, there is 
no evidence that Mary herself said that she had seen Jesus. 

But supposing that Matthew and John have each only mistaken 
the occasion, and that, at one time or other, she did say this, — how 
far is she to be believed ? The disciples considered her words idle 
tales, and believed them not. Luke xxiv. 11 ; Mark xvi. 11. We 
have thus their example for considering her testimony alone as 
insufficient, and for seeking further evidence. 

Luke says, that he appeared the same day to Cleopas and 
another disciple, whose eyes at first were holden that they did not 
know him. This is repeated in the supplement to Mark, which 
says that he appeared in another form to two of the disciples as 
they went into the country ; but it is added, that the other disciples 
did not believe them. According to Luke, so far from objecting 
to the account as incredible, the other disciples gave a similar one 
themselves. The doctrine sought to be conveyed by the story 
appears to be, that Christ suffered in order to fulfil the prophecies ; 
and as this doctrine became a favourite one in the church, Luke 
judged the story a proper one to be inserted in his collection. 
Although this view of Christ's death is frequently dwelt upon in 
the Acts and Epistles, the story of the two disciples is never 
alluded to. Yet if Christ had appeared to expound the prophecies 
concerning himself, one would not have expected to find his expo- 
sition quite forgotten in the church, but rather that it would have 
been preserved as a precious text-book. But it will be shown that 
there are no prophecies which can reasonably be interpreted con- 
cerning the sufferings of Jesus ; and in this case the story becomes 
evidently fabulous. 

The phrase in Mark, " he appeared in another form," shows that 
the idea prevailed that Jesus assumed different forms after his 
resurrection. Consequently any stranger whom the disciples 
remembered to have seen about that time might be supposed to be 
Jesus ; and thus a foundation might be laid for many legends like 
those of Cleopas and Mary Magdalene. 

Luke says, that the same day the eleven told Cleopas and his 
companion that " the Lord had appeared to Simon," which had 
been said before by Paul : " He was seen of Cephas." The same 
story probably gave rise to both assertions ; for both Luke and 
Paul could only state what they had heard from others. We have 
nowhere any particulars of this appearance to Simon Peter ; nor 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 187 

can we discover that he himself ever said that he had seen Jesus. 
When he went to examine the tomb, after receiving the report of 
Mary Magdalene, he only found that the body was gone, and went 
away wondering. Luke xxiv. 12 ; John xx. 6. 

The same day, at evening, according to John and Luke, Jesus 
appeared to all the apostles at Jerusalem, Luke xxiv. 33, John 
xx. 19, which does not disagree with the supplement to Mark, 
and Paul, but contradicts Matthew, who makes the eleven depart 
into Galilee to see him. 

The story, in Luke, of Jesus's eating the fish, and showing his 
hands and feet, seems to have originated in a wish to controvert 
the early and original doctrine, that he was risen only in a spiritual 
or invisible manner. According to Jerome, there was a similar 
story in the Gospel according to the Hebrews. Whether the 
author of this Gospel copied from Luke, or Luke from him, is not 
clear ; but a shade of probability in favour of the latter supposition 
arises from this, that Ignatius says, Smyrn. i. 9, " But I know 
that even after his resurrection he was in the flesh ; and I believe 
that he is still so. And when he came to those who were with 
Peter, he said unto them, Take, handle me, and see that I am not 
an incorporeal daemon. And straightway they felt him, and be- 
lieved ; being convinced both by his flesh and spirit. For this 
cause they despised death, and were found to be above it. But 
after his resurrection he did eat and drink with them, as he was 
flesh ; although as to his spirit, he was united to the Father." 
Which story of Ignatius agrees very well with that in Luke ; but 
Jerome says that Ignatius took it from the Gospel according to 
the Hebrews ; which indicates that in Jerome's time that Gospel 
was considei-ed as its proper and original source.* 



* Ignatius had been asserting with some vehemence that Jesus Christ 
suffered upon the cross really, or in the flesh, apparently in opposition to 
the Cerinthian heresy, that the clivine soul or Christ left the body of Jesus 
to suffer in appearance only. To make his point still stronger, he says that 
he knows that even after his resurrection he was still in the flesh. 

The distinction between what Jesus did or suffered in the flesh, i. e. by 
means of material organs like other men, and what he did or suffered in the 
spirit, i. e. by secret and invisible operation like that attributed to the Deity, 
was much debated towards the end of the first century. It is frequently 
asserted that he was born of the race of David according to the flesh, and 
crucified in the flesh. It was natural to ask, was he raised from the dead 
in the flesh also ? The first Epistle of Peter, we have seen, appears to de- 
cide this in the negative, " he was crucified in the flesh, but made alive in 
the spirit." But the writers of the third and fourth Gospels take the oppo- 



188 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

John alone relates that, eight days afterwards, Jesus appeared 
again to the disciples at Jerusalem, and held the discourse with 
Thomas, who calls him, " my Lord and my God." This latter 
title betrays the fiction ; since the term God was not applied to 
Jesus until the doctrine of the incarnation of the logos had been 
established, or near the end of the first century.* 

Matthew alone relates that Jesus appeared to the eleven on a 
mountain in Galilee ; but, that some doubted. If some of those 
who were actually at the mountain doubted whether they saw Jesus 
or not, we may reasonably doubt whether he was to be seen at all 
there ; especially as the words attributed to him do not seem at 
all likely to have been said, from the disciples paying no attention 
to them. For, in the Acts and Epistles, they never baptize in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. If 
Paul knew of this story, and believed it, he would hardly have 
spoken so slightingly of baptism : " I thank God that I baptized 
none of you but Crispus and Gaius." It seems not unlikely that 
some of the disciples returned to Galilee, expecting to see Jesus 
there ; that subsequently some of them asserted that they had seen 
him there, which the others denied ; that, consequently, the story 
was not generally credited, and that this phrase " some doubted," 



site view, and the minuteness and clearness with which they urge that he 
ate and drank and was handled, are probably to be regarded as their decla- 
rations of the extent to which they intended to carry the doctrine. 

The Cerinthian heresy, that the Christ or divine soul of the Saviour had 
a separate existence from the human being Jesus, and left him at the cru- 
cifixion, would give peculiar interest to all legends asserting his corporeal 
nature after his resurrection, and might occasion some of them. 

The manner in which Ignatius introduces his last point, " but I know 
that even after his resurrection he was in the flesh," implies that this was 
not universally known like the two former. 

* The reader is referred to the works of the Unitarians for the arguments 
that the application of the term "God" to Christ, in the writings of Paul, 
is doubtful, or that the text has been corrupted. But the genuineness of 
the text in John has never been questioned ; and the Fathers generally 
maintained that he taught the divinity of Christ. See Priestley's Early 
Opin., ch. vii. Christ is called God frequently in the epistles of Ignatius, 
A.D. 107. Smymceans i. 2 ; iii. 11. Romans i. 1, 13 ; ii. 16. Epli. i. 1 ; 
ii. 7. 

The words of Pliny about A.D. 102, " Christo quasi deo," show that the 
Christians had then been for some time accustomed to address Christ in 
this manner. Jesus, in the legend, receives the title as a proper confession 
of faith. But its variance with the parent creed was still perceived, and 
consequently the Jews had been represented as remonstrating against Jesus 
as making himself equal with God. 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 189 

merely reflects the incredulity of some in the church respecting it. 
Mark, although he relates the command to go into Galilee, does 
not add any narrative of an appearance there : and was thus either 
ignorant of it, or neglected it ; unless we suppose that the part 
replaced by another hand contained it. 

John (or the person calling himself " we," who writes for him,) 
says that Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of 
Tiberias, and gives an account of a miraculous draft of fishes much 
like that described by Luke at the first calling of Peter at the 
same sea ; of Jesus eating broiled fish, which resembles Luke's 
account of the same thing at Jerusalem ; and of prophecies con- 
cerning the death of Peter and the long life of John, which are 
not alluded to in the Acts or any of the Epistles, except the 
second, or spurious, Epistle of Peter. If things so interesting to 
Peter had really taken place, it is singular not only that Mark, the 
follower of Peter, should omit them, but that the person com- 
pleting his Gospel should give an account which does not admit of 
their being true ; for he represents the ascension as happening 
immediately after Jesus had spoken to the disciples at Jerusalem. 
But the resemblances noticed authorize the conjecture that the 
whole chapter is grounded upon the above stories of Luke, with 
such embellishments as had grown up by the year 97. 

Paul says, that after Jesus had been seen by Peter and the 
twelve, (query, eleven ? for Matthias was not yet chosen,) he was 
seen of above five hundred brethren at once ; but he does not say 
clearly when : and it is impossible to discover when it could be ; 
for John alone mentions a second appearance to the general body 
of the disciples, viz. when Thomas was with them. The meeting 
in a place with closed doors, and the promise of the power to remit 
sins, given to the same company, imply that the writer did not 
intend to speak of so numerous an assembly as five hundred. But 
twenty or thirty years afterwards some might be ready to say, that 
five hundred had seen him. The speeches in the Acts only assert 
that Jesus was shown to "chosen witnesses," (x. 41, xiii. 30,) 
which surely could not mean so many as five hundred. This story 
is important, because it assists us to estimate the weight due to 
Paul's testimony. Now, since it is impossible to believe that so 
important an appearance could have been omitted by all those who 
wrote professedly on the subject, if they believed it, it follows that 
Paul adopted a story which they disbelieved or neglected, and 
consequently that he was far from rigid in investigating the his- 
torical basis to the accounts of the re-appearance of Jesus. This 



190 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

is confirmed by Paul's citing an appearance to James, which none 
of the Evangelists hare noticed, but which is found in a fragment 
of the Gospel according to the Hebrews. 

In his Gospel, Luke represents Jesus as ascending on the same 
day that he first appeared to the eleven ; but in the Acts, written 
probably at some distance of time, he says that Jesus was seen by 
the disciples, and spoke to them during forty days ;* which agrees 
very ill with all tbe preceding accounts, in which Jesus is repre- 
sented as appearing and vanishing suddenly, in different forms, 
different parts of the country, and only at intervals. 

V. It was undoubtedly very easy to invent stories like these 
during the sixty years between the death of Jesus and the writing 
of the last Gospel ; and there can be as little doubt that the dis- 
position of the church in general was such as to encourage the 
invention. 

Peter and the other apostles believed their master to be the 
Messiah, and that he would become miraculously king of Israel ; 
they were disappointed and perplexed by his death ; but, still be- 
lieving in his divine mission, and finding his body gone, they 
received readily the idea that he was risen, and would soon re- 
appear to fulfil his promises. Traces appear in these very stories 
that the belief in the resurrection was not owing to an actual ap- 
pearance, f Such a belief was not unnatural to men in their cir- 
cumstances, whose religion contained histories of several persons 
taken from the earth miraculously, \ and especially when they be- 
gan to find or fancy a correspondence between their master's suf- 
ferings and the prophecies. Once thoroughly possessed with the 
belief that Jesus was the Messiah, the king of Israel, they could 
find no solution of the mystery of his death but in the idea that 



* The number of the days of his temptation, and of Moses' sojourn in the 
mount. 

f John believed that he was risen instantly on finding the tomb empty. 
" Then went in also that other disciple which came first to the sepulchre, 
and he saw and believed." John xx. 8. Peter was more slow. Luke 
xxiv. 12. 

\ It may deserve attention as a conjecture, that the words, " For I am 
not yet ascended," John xx. 17, refer to an early impression of some of the 
disciples, that Jesus, on being raised, ascended immediately to heaven. As, 
however, the stories of Jesus' appearance on the earth multiplied, the 
ascension was postponed ; and when Luke wrote the Acts, it was placed 
forty days after the resurrection. 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 191 

he was soon to return to claim his kingdom : " Ought not Christ 
to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory ?" Con- 
sequently, the reports which soon arose amongst the more ignorant 
and eager of their followers, that Jesus had been actually seen in 
different places, were not only a pleasing relief to their distress 
for his sudden loss, but agreed with the view which now seemed 
to disclose itself, of the divine plans concerning him. They might 
not unnaturally believe some of these stories to be true. Most 
men are not very rigid in their examination of a belief which 
agrees well with their interests and feelings : and men of more pro- 
found scientific knowledge than any Jews possessed at that time, 
have wavered on the subject of the re-appearance of the dead. 
The apostles did not at first believe them which said they had seen 
Jesus ; but the influence of these tales, so pleasing to their own 
minds, and so powerful in promoting the faith of the church, after- 
wards led them, perhaps sincerely, to blame their own incredulity 
as hardness of heart. 

Nevertheless it may be said, that the tales of the re-appearance 
of Jesus, if really false, could not have obtained a general recep- 
tion without considerable opposition ; and that traces of this oppo- 
sition would be found. They are found in the tone adopted towards 
the unbelievers ; for this shows that the objections of such were 
neither unfrequent nor unimportant: "He upbraided them with their 
unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which 
had seen him after he was risen." Mark xvi. 14. "Because thou 
hast seen me, thou hast believed ; blessed are they that have not seen 
me, and yet have believed." John xx. 29. " But some doubted." 
Matt, xxviii. 17. " He that believeth not, shall be damned." Mark 
xvi. 16. The ascription of such sayings as these to Jesus, shows 
that the difficulty of overcoming the disbelief of many in the 
church was by no means insignificant. Thus at the very time, the 
very hour when Jesus was said to have appeared again, scepticism 
seems to have been as prevalent as it is at the present day, and 
among the first disciples themselves. While the repeated recur- 
rence to spiritual menace on this point by the writers of the early 
church, joined to the confused manner in which they give their 
own accounts of the resurrection, lead us to think that they found 
difficulty in overcoming the scepticism by an appeal to the testi- 
mony then existing. 

VI. Upon the whole, the accounts of the appearances of Jesus 
after his death, are incredible ; because, 



192 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

Firstly, Not one of them comes down to us attested in such a 
manner as would be commonly thought sufficient to establish a fact 
of importance. With the exception of John, (for a faithful report 
of whose testimony we depend on the integrity of the Ephesian 
church), not one of the supposed eye-witnesses gives direct evi- 
dence. Matthew says that Mary Magdalene saw Jesus ; Paul 
says the same for Peter ; Luke says that he appeared to Cleopas ; 
the author of the Gospel according to the Hebrews speaks for 
James ; and in each case the probability is that the account had 
passed through many intermediate narrators. The accounts indivi- 
dually are insufficient evidence ; nor can they together make up a 
cumulative proof, because they proceed from witnesses only nomi- 
nally independent, but in reality influenced by the same views and 
feelings. 

Secondly, These accounts present irreconcilable contradictions. 

Thirdly, They resemble very much other tales of apparitions in 
the sudden coming and vanishing of Jesus. 

Fourthly, It has been very common in the Jewish and 
Christian, as well as other churches, for those who wished to en- 
forces a particular precept or doctrine to say that some eminent 
prophet, angel, or saint, had appeared to reveal it to them. Jesus 
appears to the two disciples, to tell them that he suffered in fulfil- 
ment of the prophecies ; to the eleven in Galilee, in order to give 
them the baptismal commission to all nations ; to the disciples at 
Jerusalem, to give them the power of remitting or retaining sins ; 
and to Thomas, to proclaim the necessity of believing in his 
resurrection without having seen him. 

Fifthly, There were many who disbelieved these accounts in the 
earliest times. 

Sixthly, Most of the attestations of the resurrection of Jesus in 
the apostolic writings do not of necessity apply to these accounts 
of his appearance, but to the general doctrine that he was risen, 
which might be in an invisible or spiritual manner. And those 
which bear a further sense seem to allude to stories of visions. 

VII. The ascension of Jesus into heaven is related only by 
Luke, and by the author of the last twelve verses of Mark.* It 
is alluded to John xx. 17, but no account is given of it. That in 
the appendix to Mark is given in a careless manner in one verse, 

* It is remarkable that, if these twelve verses be omitted, as we have seen 
was generally done in the early copies, Mark, the follower of Peter, relates 
neither the miraculous oirtli, the resurrection, nor the ascension of Christ. 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST 193 

and places the transaction immediately after the first appearance 
to the eleven at Jerusalem. Luke in the Gospel seems to agree 
with this as to the time : but in the Acts, where he is more circum- 
stantial, he says it took place forty days afterwards. A more 
striking event could hardly be imagined than the ascent of Jesus 
in the presence of his disciples ; yet one of the Evangelists says 
not a word concerning it ; another, supposed to have been one of 
the witnesses, stops short when he approaches it ; and only those 
two of the four who are allowed not to have been eye-witnesses 
(and only one of these, if Mark did not write the last twelve verses) 
give any account of it. The belief that Jesus must have ascended 
into heaven like Enoch and Elijah was likely to give rise to some 
dramatic descriptions of the event, as of a real scene ; and one 
highly-coloured representation has been preserved or drawn by 
Luke. 

The ancient Jewish prophets, like many eastern writers, were 
accustomed to mix facts, visions, and allegories, in the same narra- 
tive, without marking clearly where one sort of writing ends and 
another begins ; * and this vivid manner of writing was imitated 
by their readers and admirers, the early Christians. Looking at 
the matter in this way, the stories of the temptation, the preaching 
to the spirits in prison, the appearances of Jesus after his death, 
and the ascension, are pleasing romances. But in considering 
them as matters of fact, we become as much embarrassed as if we 
were to endeavour to explain in the same way the books of 
Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Revelations. 



The most beautiful fictions are those which bring to view the 
forms of departed friends ; for in these the colours of the imagi- 
nation are both deepened and softened by the more refined feelings, 
friendship, esteem, and sorrow. The sudden loss of such a leader 
as Jesus must have left a strong impression on any minds ; much 
more on those of fishermen and peasants of an eastern country, 
who believed him to be the Messiah. The romantic hopes which 
he had excited, the sublime views to which he had raised their 
minds, and the feelings of veneration and attachment to himself 



* The passage of the Lord before Moses (Exod. xxxiv. 6) is related as 
much in the style of facts as the rising up of Moses early in the morning, 
verse 4. 



194 ON THE RESURRECTION AND 

which he had awakened, could not at once subside. All these 
powerful sources of action found a vent in the continuance of his 
plans, in the institution of memorials of him, in heightening and 
colouring to other hearers the incidents of his life, and in culti- 
vating the delightful illusions of his resurrection, perpetual pre- 
sence, and future re-appearance. Fictions proceeding from such 
feelings, and also connected, as they were in the case of the dis- 
ciples, with the real interests of life, must be of a different character 
from those thrown out in the mere wantonness of imagination. 
Hence the appearance of simplicity, earnestness, and reality, which 
in the midst of palpable inconsistencies, pervade the evangelic 
histories, and render even their fictions unique. Hence also the 
reason of the superiority of the evangelic style to most of the 
similar fictions in the apocryphal books ; for as these were written 
at later times, the immediate impressions produced by the advent 
of Jesus had become much weakened. In short, in the stories of 
the resurrection and ascension of Jesus we see traces of the senti- 
ments awakened in some inhabitants of an eastern and imagina- 
tive clime, at an eventful period of their country's history, by the 
life, precepts, and sudden death, of one of the most extraordinary 
persons in history. 

It is undoubtedly more gratifying to enter into the feelings of 
the disciples, and transporting ourselves in imagination to Jeru- 
salem, Bethany, and the Mount of Olives, now become desolate 
by the absence of their master, whose conversation and under- 
taking had formerly rendered every hill and village a place of 
interest — to listen with anxiety to the reports of those who say 
he is risen ; to allow our wishes to overcome distrust ; to 
imagine that the risen Messiah is still walking the earth, secure 
in his immortal state from further attempts of his enemies ; 
to expect him at times to throw aside his invisible veil, and to 
look for him on the mountain, high road, and lake ; to believe 
that his now divine nature enables him to assume different forms 
at pleasure, and to convert each dimly-seen or indistinctly-remem- 
bered shape into Jesus ; and when he seems finally to have left 
the earth, to see him ascending to the right hand of God, there to 
wait the appointed time for revealing his kingdom. But imagi- 
nation and feeling are unsafe guides in an inquiry into facts. The 
real occurrence is often found to bear no proportion in grandeur 
to the shape which it has assumed in contemplation. And in the 
circumstances attending the death of Jesus, we are forced to see a 
striking instance of the tendency of the mind to invest ordinary 



ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 195 

events with a higher beauty and interest than uniinpassioned ob- 
servation alone could discover,' and to give to the common places 
of the world an impress of that higher life and perfection toward 
which it seems borne by its own nature. The disappearance of the 
body of the crucified Nazarene loses the mysterious grandeur 
which its connexion with themes most interesting to mankind had 
drawn around it, and shrinks into a comparatively poor and trifling 
incident when we approach for close inspection : but the sublime 
views which it was in part the occasion of bringing forth, and the 
moral revolution which it contributed to promote, are in them- 
selves deeply-interesting facts, which have an important bearing 
on every inquiry concerning the ultimate destination of the human 
mind. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES IN THE FOUR 
GOSPELS. 

In common life marvellous tales are often met with, which, on 
taking the trouble to trace them back through various stages 
to their source, we find to have originated in something perfectly- 
intelligible and natural. And when we have done this in some 
instances, we conclude that the same result would follow in the 
case of similar tales, coming to us through the same channels, 
although in this latter case we might not have the means of fol- 
lowing up such a tedious investigation. 

For instance, — Irenaeus says, " There were some who had heard 
Polycarp relate, how St. John, going one day to the bath in 
Ephesus, and finding the heretic Cerinthus in it, started back in- 
stantly without bathing, crying out, Let us run away, lest the bath 
should fall upon us, while Cerinthus, the enemy of truth, is in it." 
- — Iren. 1. iii. c. 3. Epiphanius tells the same story of Ebion, and 
adds, that " St. John had never before made use of the public 
baths, till he was sent thither on this occasion by divine inspira- 
tion, to give this open testimony of his detestation of heresy." 
Feuardentius, in his notes on this passage of Irenasus, says that 
Jerome, in his treatise against the Luciferians, affirms that "im- 
mediately after the retreat of St. John, the bath actually fell 
down, and crushed Cerinthus to death." An ordinary event is 
thus grown into a miracle of some magnitude. 

There is no reason why we should not apply the same mode of 
investigation to the narratives of the writers in the century before 
Irenasus, viz. those of the New Testament. 

Draught of In Matthew, ch. iv., and Mark i., there is an account 
fishes. Q f j esus calling Peter to follow him, whilst he was fish- 

ing at the sea of Galilee. Luke relates the same occurrence, adding 
a miraculous draught of fishes, ch. v. John adds a miraculous 



REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES. 197 

fire of coals to broil the fish, and a prophecy of Peter's death ; 
and makes the whole take place after the resurrection of Jesus, 
xxi.* 

Here, again, we see the very natural progress of a story during 
sixty-four years, from a simple occurrence into a cluster of mi- 
racles. And it gives us reason to think that other accounts of 
miracles would also be easily explicable if we had the means of 
stopping them at each stage. 

Matthew and Mark relate that Jesus was baptized Descent of 
by John th^e Baptist, and that he saw the spirit de- the s P mt - 
scending upon himself like a dove. Luke says that the spirit did 
descend in a bodily shape, like a dove. John adds, that this 
descent of the spirit had been foretold to John the Baptist. By 
the time of Justin, there was also a fire kindled in the Jordan. 
Dial, with Trypho. 

John alone gives the story of the marriage feast, Marriage 
where the water was turned into wine. The internal feast at Cana - 
evidence becomes therefore of the more importance. " When they 
wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no 
wine." There is no reason why Jesus should be applied to for 
wine, which it was the duty of the host to furnish ; but however 
unnatural the application in reality, it was quite natural on the 
part of the writer, who has to prepare the way for the event. 
Jesus replies, "Woman, what hast thou to do with me? mine 
hour is not yet come : " a reply no less unnatural, and of which 
the only object could be to demonstrate the prophetic dignity of 
Jesus, by indicating that he regulated all his actions so as to fulfil 
exactly the divine decrees concerning him ; accordingly the phrase 



* That all the accounts are based upon the same incident is inferred 
from the following resemblances : — 

The scene was at the sea of Galilee or Tiberias . in all four. 
Peter, James, and John, were amongst those 

present id. 

They were fishing id. 

Jesus gives the command to Peter, Follow me . Matt., Mark, and John. 
Jesus promises Peter that he shall be a fisher of 

men Matt., Mark, and Luke. 

The fishermen forsake all and follow him . . id. 
When Jesus first met them they had caught 

nothing Luke and John. 

Jesus commands to cast the net id. 

A great multitude of fishes are taken .... id. 



198 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

is a favourite one with this evangelist, John vii. 6 ; xiii. 1 ; 
xvi. 21. But as his compliance proves that the hour was about to 
come in a few seconds, such a declaration here would partake both 
of harshness and ostentation. " His mother saith unto the ser- 
vants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." This implies that 
the mother of Jesus had the same foresight of what was to come 
that the writer had ; for how could she otherwise give such appo- 
site introductory directions ? — Jesus having as yet exhibited no 
miraculous powers, nor having intimated that he was about to 
give any directions to the servants. The enormous quantity of 
wine produced,* (about one hundred and thirty gallons,) and its 
goodness, which excites the wonder of the host, accord better with 
the aim of a narrator anxious to exhibit a great miracle, than with 
that of a reforming prophet. Whatever fact might have supplied 
a basis for the story, the greater part is evidently artificially con- 
trived, to produce on the readers tbat effect which the supposed 
occurrence is said to have produced on the beholders ; viz. " to 
manifest forth the glory of Jesus." But as far as relates to the 
beholders, the whole must have been a failure ; for we learn else- 
where after all, that the kinsmen of Jesus who were there did not 
believe in him. John vii. 5 ; Mark iii. 21. 

Now in this instance we have no means of detecting the pro- 
gress of exaggeration or invention by comparing the story with 
another account ; but unless we had seen reason to confide impli- 
citly in the writer's veracity, (which we have not, see chap, vi.) 
it would be more reasonable to suppose the simple fact to have been, 
that Jesus was once in his life present at a marriage-feast, and 
that some of his disciples in after-times endeavoured to honour 
him by attributing to him a miracle on the occasion, than to be- 
lieve a story loaded with such improbabilities. 
Peter's wife's Matthew says, that Jesus touched the hand of 

mother. Peter's wife's mother, " And the fever left her, and 
she arose and ministered unto them." Mark, although appa- 
rently borrowing from him, or from the same source, makes the 
affair resemble a miracle more by saying, "immediately. the fever 



* Josephus, Ant. viii. 2, 9, makes a bath equal to 72 Z&otcu, an Attic 
measure holding a pint. The /itTpri-tji; or firkin, also an Attic measure, is 
commonly represented equal to 72 Zkarai, or 9 English gallons. Jahn's 
Antiq. § 114. The bath is rendered in the Septuagint /3ai6> and jutrpj/rry?. 
Calmet. But Calmet says the bath contained 1\ gallons. Six water-pots 
of 2 or 3 metretes each (say 15) = 112 J, or 135 gallons. 



IX THE FOUR GOSPELS. 199 

left her, and she ministered unto them;" and Luke completes it 
by saying, "it was a great fever,'''' and "immediately she arose and 
ministered unto them." Now the variations, although perhaps 
made innocently, are important ; for the reality of the miracle de- 
pends upon the greatness of the fever, and upon the patient's ex- 
hibiting immediately some visible sign of recovery, such as rising. 
A more striking instance of the same sort is the Casting out 
following. Matthew says, demons. 

viii. 16, ""When the even was come, they brought unto him many that 
were possessed with demons ; and he cast out the spirits with his word, and 
cured all that were sick." 

Mark i. 32. "And at even when the sun did set. they brought unto him 
all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with demons. And 
all the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many that 
were sick of divers diseases ; and cast out many demons ; and suffered not 
the demons to speak, because they linen- him." 

Luke iv. 40. "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick 
with divers diseases, brought them unto him ; and he laid hands on every 
one of them, and healed them. And demons also came out of many, wying 
out and saying. Thou art Christ, the Son of God. And he. rebuking them, 
suffered them not to speak : for the;/ knin: that he rvas Christ. 

It is obvious that the story has gained materially at each 
narration. 

Matthew says, that Jesus said to a paralytic man Cure of 
who believed in his power, the P als . v - 

ix. 2 — 8. "Arise, take up thy bed. and go unto thy house. And he arose 
and departed to his house/' 

Mark ii. 12. "And immediately he arose, took wp the bed, and went forth 
before them all." 

Luke v. 25, "And immediately he arose up before them, and took up that 
whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God." 

In such instances, the gradual enhancement is very different 
from wilful falsehood, since the additional particulars doubtless 
seemed to the writers no less probable in themselves than edifying 
to the church. 

Mntthew s-ivs The issue 

Mattnew say*, of blood. 

ix. 20. '• A woman who was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, 
came behind him. and touched the hem of his garment. For she said 
within herself. If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But 
Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said. Daughter, be of 
good comfort : thy faith hath made thee whole. And the reoman rvas made 
whole from that hour.'' 



200 EEMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

The narrative is simple and probable enough up to the last sen- 
tence, which might very naturally be supplied by Matthew, on 
supposition, as a proper conclusion, for he does not say how the 
fact was known. But let us turn to Mark's account. 

Mark v. 25, "And a certain woman who had an issue of blood twelve 
years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all 
that she had, and was nothing lettered, but rather grew worse ; when she 
heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For 
she said, If I may but touch his clothes, I shall be well ; and straightway 
the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was 
healed of that plague; and Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that 
virtue had gone out of him., turned about in the press, and said, Who touched 
my clothes ? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude 
thronging thee, and say est thou, Who touched me? And he looked round 
about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and 
trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, 
and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath 
made thee whole : go in peace and be whole of thy plague." 

Although Mark's additions have merely the appearance of 
amplifications upon Matthew, his account presents a much more 
decided miracle. And Luke has copied it in preference. 
Feeding of The feeding of the five thousand with five loaves 

the 5000. an( j ^ wo fights j[ s one f the best-attested of the mi- 
racles, because it is related by all the four evangelists, and without 
important contradictions, although Matthew and John, at least, 
appear not to have copied from each other ; also it is alluded to 
in two subsequent discourses. Yet, with all this, is it possible 
to say, that the evidence in support of this story is such as 
would entitle it to serious consideration if it were found in any 
other book ? The earliest account, that of Matthew, is as fol- 
lows : — 

xiv. 15 — 22, "And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, say- 
ing, This is a desert place, and the time is now past ; send the multitude 
away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But 
Jesus said unto them, They need not depart ; give ye them to eat. And 
they say unto him, We have here but five loaves and two fishes. He said, 
Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on 
the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to 
heaven, he blessed, brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the 
disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled : and they 
took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that 
had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. And 
straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go be- 
fore him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away." 



IN THE FOUR GOSPELS. 201 

The only important additions in the other accounts are, that 
Mark says, they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties ; 
Luke that they sat by fifties in a company ; and John names 
Philip and Andrew as the disciples to whom Jesus addressed 
himself. 

Now, in Matt. xv. and Mark viii. we find a similar story of the 
feeding of four thousand men with seven loaves and a few fishes, 
seven baskets being taken up of the fragments : which story seems 
to be only another version of the former, because, Firstly, They 
agree with each other in the order of the speeches and events, and 
almost in the words. Secondly, In the latter story the disciples 
appear not to have the slightest remembrance of the first miraculous 
feeding, but ask, " Whence should we have bread in the wilder- 
ness to satisfy so great a multitude ?" and Jesus in his answer 
shows the same unconsciousness of any similar occurrence. 
Thirdly, The scene agrees in each story ; in the former, Jesus had 
been in Galilee, and had come by ship into a desert place ; in the 
latter he is on a mountain near the sea of Galilee. Fourthly r 
After each miracle Jesus sends the multitude away, and passes 
over the sea. Fifthly, Luke and John relate only the feeding of 
five thousand. 

Consequently, Matthew tells the same story twice, and contra- 
dicts himself notably in all his numbers. From xvi. 9, 10, it is 
plain that he considered that he had related two separate occur- 
rences, which renders it probable that he merely gave both accounts 
as he found them ; the different way of narrating the same story 
in the church having caused it to grow into two before he wrote.. 
But in whatever way the doubling originated, it being admitted 
that both stories must refer to the same incident, this reflection 
arises, — since the two narratives differ from each other so much 
concerning the number of baskets-full taken up, and of the multi- 
tude filled, may not the real transaction differ from them both so 
far as that a less number of baskets-full were taken up, and that a 
less number of persons than the whole multitude were fed ? — on 
which two points the miracle depends. 

Since Mark and Luke appear to have borrowed from Matthew, 
or from the same tradition, their testimony in this case is of little 
value. Every tradition concerning Christ was doubtless repeated 
by hundreds in the church ; and, after forty years, an additional 
narrator added little or nothing to its credibility. Matthew and 
John alone have any title to be considered as independent wit- 



202 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

nesses ; but they, too, may have depended upon the account of 
some one disciple, perhaps John himself ; although even he does 
not state that he was an eye-witness. In fact, we have not an 
account from any one person on whom we can depend as having 
been present ; we are obliged to rest this important point on 
an inference, viz., that John must have been amongst " the 
disciples."* 

The discourses which allude to these miracles bear strong marks 
of fiction. In Matthew xvi. 6 — 12, the disciples, accustomed as 
they were to disputes on the doctrines of the Pharisees and 
Sadducees, and immediately after a discussion with some of these 
two sects, cannot understand Jesus when he tells them to " beware 
of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." And shortly after 
they are supposed to have witnessed the two miraculous supplies 
of loaves, they appear distressed at having forgotten to bring 
bread, and not one of them thinks of applying to Jesus. Could 
any set of men in such circumstances really be so dull as to need 
the reproof attributed to Jesus, " ye of little faith .... do ye not 
remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many 
baskets ye took up ? Neither the seven loaves of the four thou- 
sand, and how many baskets ye took up ?" But such inconsis- 
tencies, although betraying the fiction to the reader, might be 
overlooked by an incautious writer, inclined to the marvellous, 
and giving himself little pains to preserve an historical coherence 
between his materials. f 



* It has been seen that our first Gospel is not probably the compilation 
of the apostle Matthew, and that it is uncertain how much it preserves of 
the record left by him. The doubt applies especially to the narrative parts, 
and must therefore exclude any reasoning which must depend on the sup- 
position that Matthew the apostle was the real author. The reader will 
have perceived that, for the sake of brevity, the word " Matthew" is used 
frequently for "the writer of the Gospel of Matthew," when the subject in 
hand is not affected by this ambiguity. Although we must regret the want 
of certainty on this point, it is not in reality of the first importance, since, 
owing to the little we know of Matthew the apostle, he and an unknown 
member of the Jewish church must stand nearly on a par with respect to 
credibility ; i. e., for either of them it must be determined chiefly by 
internal evidence. We must even have depended, in most cases, on this, in 
order to be satisfied that the apostle was an eye-witness, since he is so 
seldom named in the Gospels. 

f In bringing together truth and fiction in one narrative, some awkward 
joinings must be left, which it requires a violent hypothesis to complete. 
Of such a kind is the extreme dulness which it is often found necessary to 
attribute to the disciples. Their unconsciousness of the miraculous event 



IX THE FOUR GOSPELS. 203 

Again, in John vi. 26, Jesus is made to say, " Ye seek me not 
because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, 
and were filled." Yet immediately afterwards the people to whom 
he speaks thus, say, " What sign showest thou then that we may 
see and believe thee ? What dost thou work ? Our fathers did 
eat manna in the desert; as it is written, he gave them bread 
from heaven to eat." The people thus appear to have forgotten 
the miraculous feeding as quickly and as completely as the dis- 
ciples ; and Jesus himself in his answer takes no further notice of 
it ; for instead of appealing to it as a sign already given, he merely 
says, that he himself is the true bread from heaven. Can any one 
imagine, if the miraculous feeding had really taken place, that the 
people would have made such an absurd demand as to require for 
a sign, as the condition of their believing in Jesus, the very thing 
which they had just witnessed, viz., the giving them bread in the 
desert ? The same explanation occurs here as in the instance above 
from Matthew — that there is probably a mixture of truth and 
fiction in the discourses as well as in the narrative. The demand 
for a sign was very likely to be really made, since Josephus says, 
that the leaders claiming divine inspiration generally pretended to 
give signs from heaven ; and reasons have been suggested (chap, 
vi.) for believing that fictitious accounts of miracles were invented 
in later times to serve in the controversy with the opponents of 
the church. 

In reality it was easier to ask for bread from heaven than to 
give it ; but in narration both were equally easy. It is stated 
more than once that Jesus did not comply with the demands for a 
sign ; but the promulgators of traditions after his death might 
think that a compliance with, rather than a refusal of, the demand, 
would have a better effect in promoting belief. Hence stories 
crept in of the actual giving of the bread from heaven, whilst 
traces both of incident and dialogue remain conformable to the 
probable original fact, viz., that it was asked for, but not given. 

With the difficulties which are found to clog the narratives of 
Matthew and John, it seems to require a more established character 
for accuracy, impartiality, and freedom from the disposition to 
invent or exaggerate, than belongs to either of them, to compel 



was probably the truth : the miracle itself, and the discourse alluding to it, 
the fiction : the two are generally reconciled at the expense of the disciples' 
understanding. See more on this subject in the chapter on Christ's predic- 
tions of his death. 



204 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

our belief of such a story on the strength chiefly of their testi- 
mony ; and the more so, when there are such obvious means of 
accounting for its existence. That some real incident served as a 
basis for it is very probable. With the exception of one verse, 
the 20th, Matthew's whole account is not unnatural. Jesus was 
one evening in the desert, and commanded his disciples to distribute 
what food they had amongst the multitude. He gave thanks on 
breaking the bread, as was usual among the Essenes.* In the 
darkness and confusion, (for, not witb standing the command to sit 
down in companies,! those who are used to large assemblies will 
imagine that the voice of twelve disciples alone could not have 
enforced very strict order amongst five thousand hungry men, 
besides women and children,) it was impossible to know how many 
had eaten, and how far they felt satisfied. The situation of Jesus 
bore much resemblance to that of Moses, when he was called upon 
to feed the hungry Israelites ; but so far, the performance fell very 
short of that of the Hebrew prophet. Consequently, one of the 
disciples, or some other narrator, could not resist the temptation 
to add that all the multitude were filled ; and subsequently, in 
another narration, it was added, tbat twelve baskets-full were left. 
But here the fictitious parts disclose themselves by their want of 
coherence. The twelve baskets-full startle the reader, who involun- 
tarily exclaims, " Where did they come from, and for what pur- 
pose ?" since, up to the middle of verse 20, Matthew appears to 
mean that Jesus had divided only the five loaves and two fishes, 
and that the multitude were filled with what they had from these, 
giving no hint of a multiplication of the loaves, or of the appear- 
ance of fresh loaves, which one would think must have attracted 
the attention of the beholders, and formed one of the most striking 
parts of the incident. This clause concerning the quantity of the 
fragments seems evidently to have been added to the first story, 
that the people were all filled, by Matthew or some other incautious 
narrator, who, in his eagerness to magnify the miracle, did not 
stop to consider whether his improvement cohered with the rest.J 



* " It is unlawful for any one to taste of the food before grace be said." 
— Jos. War, 2-, viii. 5. 

f This addition, however, by Mark, has very much the appearance of 
being one of his usual amplifications upon Matthew, arising from his pro- 
pensity to enter into details. 

J It is curious to observe the manner in which the other three treat this 
difficulty. Mark appears to have thought upon it, for he states very clearly 
that it was the five loaves and two fishes which he divided "among them 



IN THE FOUR GOSPELS. 205 

The discourse in John vi. 32 — 58 leads ns to conjecture that 
some figurative and poetical descriptions of Christ's doctrine, as 
the bread of heaven, which he distributed in the desert, being 
repeated, after a time, in the style of facts, contributed to the 
formation of the story as it now stands. 

Mark relates the cure of a blind man as fol- Blind man 

lows:— " ea ?\ 

Jericho. 

x. 46 — 52, " And they came to Jericho : and as he went out of Jericho 
with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimeus, the son of 
Timeus, sat by the highway-side begging. And when he heard that it was 
Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, 
have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace ; 
but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. 
And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the 
blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise ; he calleth thee. 
And he, casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus an- 
swered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee ? 
The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And 
Jesus said unto him, Go thy way : thy faith hath made thee whole [or hath 
saved thee, fftffooKS <7«]. And immediately he received his sight, and followed 
Jesus in the way." 

The answer of Jesus is remarkable, for it does not pledge him 
to the instant recovery of the blind man's sight : it merely dis- 
misses him with an undefined promise. It seems likely that the 
man did go away, was lost sight of in the crowd, and that the 
relators of the story soon amplified it with the addition, " imme- 
diately he received his sight." But it might be asked, Did any 
body see him afterwards ? had he his sight then, and how was it 
known that he had been blind ? These questions were fully 
provided for in the edition of the story published about twenty-five 
or thirty years later, viz., in John, ch. ix. Here, although it is 
admitted that the man did not immediately receive his sight, (for 
we are told that the man only saw after he had been to the pool of 
Siloam,) the accoimt is rendered, on the whole, more marvellous 
by a cross-examination of the man and his parents by the Phari- 
sees. That John refers to the same transaction may begathered 
from these parts : verse 1, " And as Jesus passed by" . . . ver. 7, 

all ;" but on coming to the fragments, he ceases to explain so exactly, and 
briefly copies Matthew. Luke preserves a more prudent indistinctness, and 
says, "he brake and gave," without repeating "them" or "the loaves." 
But John gives a bolder account, and says, they distributed to the multi- 
tude " as much as they would." 



206 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

the pool of Siloam implies that it was near Jerusalem . . . ver. 
8, " The neighbours said, Is not this he that sat and begged ? " — 
which all agrees with Mark. Ver. 6, " He anointed his eyes with 
clay," contradicts Mark, but it agrees with Matthew xx. 34, " He 
touched their eyes," plainly a parallel passage to that in Mark, 
although Matthew has made two blind men, for the speeches and 
circumstances coincide almost literally. Luke has inserted Mark's 
account with little variation, except that he makes the affair happen 
as Jesus went unto Jericho, instead of going from it ; and he adds, 
that " all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God." 

Now, the whole account in Mark has nothing miraculous, except 
the clause contradicted by John, that the man immediately received 
his sight. Admit John's account of the cross-examination by the 
Pharisees to be true, and the affair is difficult to explain, except 
by supposing a real miracle or a contrived imposture. But all the 
dialogue added by John is no more than what might occur to a 
man of moderate invention, zealous to answer objections, and, as 
he himself declares, to make the church believe, xx. 31. And 
under this view all difficulty vanishes. 

The two Matthew relates, ix. 27, another story of the cure 

blind men. f tw0 bimcl men, after that of Jairus's daughter. 
Now, as Mark says nothing of these blind men after relating the 
same story of Jairus's daughter, and as parts of Matthew's two 
stories coincide with each other exactly, (" And as Jesus departed 
thence, two blind men followed him, crying and saying, " Thou son 
of David, have mercy on us;" — xx. 30, "And behold two blind 
men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed 
by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, Lord, thou son of 
David ;") it seems most likely that Matthew here also relates the 
same story two different ways. Thus, for one cure of one blind 
man in Mark, there are two cures of two blind men in Matthew. 
Centurion's Matthew relates the story of a centurion's servant or 
T'lcT* ° r cnild , ™ i e* viii- 5 — 13, which ends thus : " And Jesus 
said, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it 
done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the self-same 
hour." Luke says, vii. 10, " And they that were sent, returning 
to the house, found the servant well that had been sick." And 



* From the ambiguity of this word, different versions of the story were 
likely to arise. Luke fixes the sense to " servant," by changing the word 
for dovXog. But John uses Matthew's word iraiq, ver. 51, and gives it the 
meaning " child" by substituting, at ver. 46, viog, son. 



IN THE FOUR GOSPELS. 207 

John, in a story which has so many points of agreement with 
Matthew's that it seems to be founded on the same incident,* says, 
iv. 51 — 53, " And as he was now going down, his servants met 
him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of 
them the hour when he began to amend : and they said unto him, 
Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him. So the father 
knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said unto him, 
Thy son liveth ; and himself believed, and his whole house. "f 

Here the vague assertion in Matthew, which gives no particulars, 
and therefore might seem to be merely the narrator's own inference 
from the words of Jesus, is very amply filled up in the latter nar- 
ratives. But had the aixthors of these acquired information of 
additional facts, or did they merely give an amplified edition of 
the first story ? It is evident that the additions in Luke and 
John might easily be suggested by Matthew's brief conclusion ; 
but, on the other hand, it seems extraordinary that he, the earliest 
narrator of the three, should be ignorant of those important cir- 
cumstances on which the evidence of the miracle rested ; or, if 



* John says that this was the second miracle done by Jesus when he was 
come out of Judea into Galilee ; Matthew puts it near the beginning of 
Jesus's public progress. Both agree that the patient lay at Capernaum. 
Matthew says the applicant was a centurion, EKaTovTapxos ; John, that he 
was a certain nobleman or ruler, nq (iaaiXiKog. John says that the patient 
was the applicant's child, iraiq, or son ; Matthew uses the same word, new;. 
Both agree that Jesus said, " Go thy way," and that the patient was healed 
in the same hour ; and both irotice the applicant's faith as remarkable. 
John, indeed, calls the sickness a fever, biit such a variation might easily 
glide into the story in twenty-five years. 

f The following story is found in the Talmud, Berachoth, fol. 34, 2 : — 
''"When the son of R. Gamaliel was sick, he sent straightway two disciples 
to R. Chanina ben Dosa, that he should pray to God for him. When there- 
fore he saw them, he went to the house-top, and prayed for him. But when 
he was come down, he saith to them, Go, for his fever hath departed. 
They answered, Ait thou a prophet ? He said, I am neither a prophet, nor 
the son of a prophet ; yet when I am able to repeat my prayers with ready 
lips, I then know that I am heard ; but if that happens not, I know that 
the thing is in vain. Then they wrote down, and noted the hour. And 
when they were come to R. Gamaliel, he saith to them, Te have done 
nothing too much nor too little in your charge : for thus the thing hath 
happened with my son. At that hour the fever left him, and he asked for 
water to drink." The date of the different parts of the Talmud camiot be 
exactly fixed, but there is a general improbability that the Rabbis of the 
first few centuries would have borrowed from the Xazarene writings. 
Schoettgen remarks, " An egg is not more like an egg than this story to 
the Gospel narrative. Interim tamen qui fictiones ingeniorum Judaicorum 
perspectas habet, is de veritate illarurn statim judicium ferre poterit." 



208 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

knowing them, that he should pass them over in so slovenly a 
manner, whilst he gives the rest of the story very circumstan- 
tially. 

Read John's account, and you find a decided and circumstan- 
tially related miracle ; go back about twenty-five years to Luke, 
and the miraculous part is reduced to a brief sentence ; approach 
still nearer to the source, and in Matthew the miracle has as much 
the appearance of being a matter of inference as of knowledge. 
How can we avoid suspecting that, if earlier testimony could be 
obtained, all that was known of the matter would be found to end 
at the words of Jesus, " Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so 
be it done unto thee !" From which it was concluded that the pa- 
tient was healed. 

II. Again, in common life, accounts are sometimes met with, 
the marvellous part of which is much reduced when we can obtain 
additional independent testimony concerning the original fact ; and 
when this has been found to be the case in some instances, we look 
with distrust on other marvellous accounts coming from the same 
source. 

So it is with Matthew. In some instances Mark serves as a 
check upon him ; for, although Mark for the most part borrowed 
from Matthew, and in such places shows a manifest disposition to 
enhance the miraculous by many little exaggerations and improve- 
ments, yet, in a few places, he appears evidently, from the nature 
of the particulars added, to bring information gathered from other 
sources, possibly from Peter ; and in several of these the miracle 
is rendered very doubtful. 

Matthew says, in relating the cure of the lunatic, Cure of the 
xvii. 18, " And Jesus rebuked the demon, and he de- lunatic. 
parted out of him : and the child was cured from that very hour." 
Any one would gather from this that an instantaneous cure was per- 
formed ; but we want more precise particulars of what was seen to 
take place ; for the departure of the demon was an invisible ope- 
ration. Mark's account is so different that he seems to have 
obtained some additional information as to this occurrence : he 
says, 

ix. 25, "When James saw that the people came running together, he 
rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I 
charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him,. And the spirit 
cried, and rent Mm, sore, and came out of him ; and he was as one dead ; 
insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and 
lifted him up, and he arose." 



IN THE FOUR GOSPELS. 209 

All which throws the miracle into doubt ; for the fits, which had 
lasted already some time, did not cease immediately at Jesus's 
command, but continued so violently, that the falling down might 
be the natural termination from exhaustion. 

Now, since Matthew has related this as an indisputable miracle, 
he may not have had a better foundation for his other numerous mi- 
racles of casting out demons, iv. 24, viii. 16, although, for want of 
particulars, we cannot judge so well of these. Another passage 
in Mark, however, confirms the idea that many might be explained 
in the same way: i. 26, "And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold 
thy peace, and ^ome out of him. And when the unclean spirit had 
torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him." 

Matthew relates the withering of the barren fig- Barren fig- 
tree thus : — tree - 

xxi. 19, "And when lie saw a fig-tree in the way, he came to it, and 
found nothing thereon, but leaves only ; and said unto it, Let no fruit 
grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently (Trapaxprjua, usually 
translated, instantly, or on the spot)* the fig-tree withered away. And 
when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon, irapaxpn^a, is 
the fig-tree withered away !" 

Here the immediate withering forms a conspicuous part of the 
story ; the force of the disciples' remark depends upon it. But 
according to Mark, it was only found to be withered the next day. 

xi. 13, " And seeing a fig-tree afar off, having leaves, he came, if haply 
he might find any thing thereon ; and when he came to it he found nothing 
but leaves ; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and 
said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples 

heard it. And they come to Jerusalem And when even was come he 

went out of the city. And in the morning as they passed by, they saw the 
fig-tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance, saith 
unto him, Master, behold the fig-tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I 
say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou 
removed and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but 
shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall 
have whatsoever he saith." 

The rejection of the miracle does not require us to suppose a 
contrivance on the part of Jesus to have the fig-tree withered. 
The character of Messiah, which he believed himself to pos- 
sess, would not allow him to stoop to art of so low a kind ; but it 



* Schrevelius, Actutum, ex tempore, illico, in ipsa re. 
o 



210 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

might allow of his relieving himself from the awkward appearance 
of disappointment on finding no fruit, and thereby maintaining 
his dignity in the eyes of his followers, by concluding the matter 
with a prophetic curse upon the tree. Yet he merely said that no 
man should hereafter eat fruit of it ; which required no immediate 
change in the tree to save his credit, for no fruit could possibly 
be found on it before another season, when probably the affair 
would be forgotten. Nevertheless, the tree being in the highway, 
was either casually or intentionally injured by some of the crowd ; 
and on a subsequent visit, any altered appearance would be enough 
to suggest a miraculous fulfilment of the curse. Since one prin- 
cipal feature of the miracle in Matthew, the instantaneousness of 
the withering, is destroyed by Mark, it is reasonable to conjecture 
that the proof of the miracle put forward by Mark himself, the 
drying up of the tree from the roots, within twenty-four hours, would, 
in its turn, be much modified by some still more searching account. 

It was the custom of Jesus to take occasion from common-place 
incidents to utter predictions or other remarkable sayings. When 
events in any degree corresponded, the predictions were most likely 
to be preserved, as in the case of the fig-tree. Yet there is one 
prediction recorded without any corresponding event, viz. the 
promise of the tribute-money from the fish's mouth, Matt. xvii. 
27. Matthew does not say that the fish was taken ; and the 
others do not even allude to the conversation. If any thing of 
the kind had really been done by Peter, we should have expected 
some mention of it, at least from his follower Mark. 

If any other editions of the story of the tribute-money had 
reached us, can we doubt that some of them would have borne the 
usual ending, "And it happened according to his word," or "as 
he had said, the fish was taken ?" This story, arrested, as it 
were, in the process of formation, brings before us more distinctly 
the steps by which others reached their complete state. In many 
cases, it was probably difficult or impossible to ascertain whether 
the words of Jesus were really accomplished or not. But tradi- 
tion would naturally tend to affix to all of them the easy and 
apparently desirable termination of an instantaneous accomplish- 
ment. 

Blind man The two stories of the blind men in Matthew re- 

at present them as receiving their sight immediately 

Bethsaida. w hen their eyes were touched. The story in Mark, 
of the blind man at Bethsaida, cannot be identified with either of 
the former, hut it may be compared with them, in order to show 



IN THE FOUR GOSPELS. 211 

the different aspect which a miracle of this kind may assume when 
related more circumstantially. For this is evidently a story which 
Mark had obtained from some other source than from Matthew ; 
since, besides the remarkable character of its particulars, it is in- 
troduced in a place where there is nothing corresponding to it in 
Matthew, although the parts both before and after it agree with 
the latter. 

Mark viii. 22 — 27, "And he cometh to Bethsaida, and they bring a 
blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the 
blind man by the hand, and lead him out of the town ; and when he had 
spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw 
aught. And he looked up and said, I see men as frees walking. After 
that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up : and 
he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to 
his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town. 
And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the town of Ceesarea Philippi." 

Here Jesus tries twice before he appears to succeed ; which is 
totally inconsistent with the idea of divine power, but agrees very 
well with the supposition that the case was one of imperfect 
amaurosis, and that the walk from the town, the repeated applica- 
tion of the hands to the eyes, and the excitement of imagination 
produced by the expectation of miraculous aid, acted gradually as 
stimulants upon the torpid nerves, and permitted a temporary, or 
possibly a permanent, recovery of sight.* 



* Amaurosis, or gutta serena, is a kind of blindness in which the sensi- 
bility of the retina and optic nerve is either partly or wholly lost. It is 
sometimes an intermittent disorder, appearing and subsiding at intervals. 
When the eye remains at all conscious of light, or retains any power of 
seeing, it is called imperfect amaurosis. Sometimes during the progress of 
the disease the sight is cloudy, and the patient can see better in a light 
than a dark situation ; sometimes he sees dark specks, net-like appearances, 
streaks, and snake-like figures. He always sees plainer for a short time 
after the outward use of tonic remedies, such as hartshorn, cold water, &c. 
Eichter relates a case of almost total blindness, in which the patient was 
able to see veiy well for an hour after drinking champagne. He also men- 
tions a woman who had entirely lost her sight, but who was in the habit 
of acquiring it again for half an hour by walking briskly in her garden. 
Sometimes patients who are wholly bund have a small part of the retina 
still susceptible of the impression of light, usually situated toward one side 
of the eye. Eichter mentions a man in whom this sensible part was situated 
obliquely over the nose, and so small that it was always a considerable time 
before its situation could be discovered : he adds, it was also so sensible as 
not only to discern the light, but the spire of a distant steeple. The disease 
being generally occasioned by torpor or paralysis of the nerves, stimulants 



212 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

In this case, Jesus sought privacy for performing the miracle, 
whilst in the cases of demons and other diseases he did not object 
to exert his supposed power in public. This seems to indicate 
that he was aware of greater difficulty in cases of blindness, and 
that he considered more solemn preparation, or more earnest faith, 
as essential to success. 

Malctms's Matthew, Mark, and John, relate that one of the 

ear. disciples cut off the high-priest's servant's ear, on 

the apprehension of Jesus. Luke alone adds, " And he touched 
his ear, and healed him," xxii. 51. The silence of those both 
before and after Luke concerning such an important particular, 
whilst relating the connected circumstances, — of John, supposed 
to be an eye-witness ; and of Mark, who was acquainted with 
Peter, an eye-witness ; and especially the omission of the story by 
John after it had been once promulgated ; — all this is nearly 
equivalent to a denial of it. 

The angel Luke also relates, on his own authority alone, that 

in the gar- whilst Jesus was praying in the garden " there ap- 
den. peared unto him an angel from heaven strengthening 

him," xxii. 63. Matthew, Mark, and John, who must have had, 
at least, as good means as Luke of knowing this circumstance, 
relate the prayer without mentioning it. But it seems out of 
place to criticise as matter of fact what appears so plainly to have 
been originally a beautiful poetical addition to the close of Jesus's 
career.* 



and tonics act as remedies by restoring the nervous activity. Electricity is 
sometimes used with effect. Amaurosis produced by wounds of the eye- 
brow has occasionally been cured by strong frictions upon the eyebrows, 
and by rubbing the same part for a considerable time with emollient oils 
and ointments. See Hey, Medical Observ. and Inquiries ; Scarpa on the 
M/es; JRicJder's Principles of Surgery. 

* It is curious to observe the close resemblance between two writers 
usually considered so dissimilar as Luke and Thomson. The Evangelist of 
Antioch says, " that Jesus retired to pray in the Mount of Olives, and that 
there appeared an angel from Heaven strengthening him." The Scotch 
poet says, 

" Still let me pierce into the midnight depth 
Of yonder grove, of wildest, largest growth, 
That, forming high in air a woodland quire, 
Nods o'er the mount beneath. At every step, 
Solemn and slow, the shadows blacker fall, 
And all is awful listening gloom around. 

These are the haunts of meditation, these 
The scenes where ancient bards th' inspiring breath 



IN THE FOUR GSOPELS. 213 

III. The foregoing instances show that the four Evangelists are 
not to be considered as writers who made it their study to adhere 
throughout to strict facts, but who allowed themselves occasionally 
to blend with these such fiction as appeared likely to increase the 
interest and efficacy of their narratives. This ascertained character 
of the narrators must be taken into account in the examinations 
of other miracles which do not fall exactly under the foregoing 
heads. 

Matthew has an account of the stilling of a tempest Stilling the 
by Jesus, viii. 23 — 27, which Mark and Luke appear tem P est - 
to have borrowed with little variation. The miracle consists in 
the instantaneousness of the calm, which may be an exaggeration 
similar to that of the instantaneous withering of the fig-tree.* 

Matthew relates, that after the feeding of the five Walking on 
thousand, Jesus walked on the water, and^ that Peter the sea. 



Ecstatic felt ; and from this world retired 

Conversed with angels, and immortal forms 

On gracious errands bent ; to save the fall 

Of virtue struggling on the brink of vice ; 

In waking whispers and repeated dreams 

To hint pure thoughts, and warn the favoured soul 

For further trials fated to prepare ; 

To prompt the poet, who devoted gives 

His muse to better themes ; to sooth the pangs 

Of dgiag worth, and from the patriot's breast 

, ... to rum the death, 

And numberless such offices of love, 
Daily and nightly, zealous to perform." 
It may somewhat dimmish our regret at being compelled to part with 
such things as realities, to reflect that the mind which produces them is 
itself a reality. The loss of the beautiful evanescent shapes is partly com- 
pensated by the contemplation of that which can call them forth at will. 
We bid farewell the more readily to such visitants as the angel af Geth- 
semane, on reflecting that there have existed and do exist numberless minds 
which, by their power of forming conceptions of the sublime and beautiful, 
as well as by their disposition to perform themselves the gracious offices of 
the ministering spirits, stand before us, notwithstanding the imperfections 
of humanity, the real and accessible representatives of the angelic nature. 

* Dr. E. D. Clarke, describing the sea of Tiberias, says, " the wind ren- 
dered the surface rough." And Buckingham, "Long-continued tempests 
from any one quarter are here unknown ; but its local features render it 
occasionally subject to whirlwinds, squalls, and sudden gusts from the hollow 
of the mountains, which, as in any other similar basin, are of short duration, 
and the most furious gust is succeeded by a perfect calm. — Calmet's Dic- 
tionary. This peculiarity is not alluded to in the description by Josephus, 
War, iii. 10, 7. Nor by Lightfoot, Cent. Chorog., cap. 70. 



214 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

quitted the ship, and walked on the water also. Mark relates the 
same thing, omitting Peter's part. John also omits Peter's 
walking on the water, but adds a new miracle, that the ship was 
immediately at the land whither it went. The fact might be, that 
Jesus rejoined them at a different part of the shore from that 
which they had left, and that walking near or in the shallow water, 
he appeared in the darkness to be walking on the water, which 
impression was afterwards worked out by John, or some other 
disciple, into the present story. Peter's beginning to sink might 
have been originally a description of his temporary apostacy, which 
Matthew put into the shape of fact ; but Mark, who knew the 
apostle, was probably aware that this was a misinterpretation, and 
therefore omitted it. After the feeding of the four thousand, which, 
it has been seen, has every appearance of being founded on the 
same incident as that of the five thousand, nothing is said of 
walking on the water, but simply that Jesus " took ship and came 
into the coasts of Magdala." 

Tranefigu- The transfiguration is related by Matthew, Mark, 

ration. and Luke, who were not present ; but not by John, who 

was said to be one of those present. It is not alluded to in any 
other part of the New Testament, except in the second or 
spurious Epistle of Peter. It has the appearance of a poetical 
tale, composed after the death of Jesus, for the purpose of putting 
him on an equality with Moses and Elias ; for the face of Moses 
shone when he came down from the mount ; both he and Elias 
heard the divine voice speaking directly to them ; and both were 
supposed by many of the Jews to have ascended into heaven. 
Possibly it originated in some dream of Peter, which, like the 
temptation, soon came to be related as matter of fact. But, what- 
ever were its origin, there are these objections to its reality. Peter, 
on seeing the two men with Jesus, immediately knows them to be 
Moses and Elias, although he had never seen these two, and nobody 
had told him they were about to appear. Luke says, their dis- 
course was concerning Jesus's decease, which he should accomplish 
at Jerusalem, although Peter and they that were with him were 
heavy with sleep. The offer of Peter, to make three tabernacles, 
seems unnatural and ill-timed for the witness of a real fact of the 
nature described. Jesus charges the disciples, Matt. xvii. 9, to 
tell the vision to no man until the Son of Man be risen again from 
the dead ; although, from John xx. 9, it would seem he had never 
given them notice of such an event. Moreover, the whole story 
was only published a considerable time afterwards ; for Luke says, 



IX THE FOUR GOSPELS. 215 

ix. 36, " they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of 

those things which they had seen." 

John relates that Jesus uttered in public a prayer The voice 

ending with these words : — fl ' om nea " 

° veil. 

" Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, 
saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people 
therefore that stood by said that it thundered : others said, an angel spake 
to him. xii. 28, 29." 

I transcribe here Middleton's remarks* on the Bath Kol : — 
" The spirit of prophecy which continued in the Jewish church 
till after its restoration from the Babylonish captivity, had entirely 
ceased under the second temple, for three centuries at least before 
Christ. But there succeeded to it, as all the Jewish writers unani- 
mously testify, an oracular voice from heaven, which was given 
occasionally to the leading rabbis or teachers of the law, to direct 
them how to act and speak on particular emergencies. It is said 
to have been accompanied generally with a kind of thunder, out 
of which it issued in a clear and articulate manner, and thence 
derived its name of Bath Kol, the daughter-voice, or daughter of 
a voice. The Bath Kol, says Lightfoot, was this : ' When a voice 
or thunder came out of Heaven, another voice came out of it.' 
(Lightfoot's Works, vol. ii. p. 128 ; in Matt. iii. 17.) This way 
of divine instruction is affirmed to have been subsisting during 
the time of our Saviour, and to the final dissolution of the Jewish 
state ; and is considered by all their doctors as an inferior kind of 
prophecy, or a sort of twilight indulged to them after the sun of 
prophecy was set; (Spencer on the Vulgar Prophecies, ch. vii. 
p. 126 ;) and from this pretended source they derived the greater 
part of those traditions with which they corrupted the law of 
Moses." However, Dr. Spencer said, " the Bath Kol was a Jewish 
fable ;" and Prideaux, that " the Bath Kol was no such voice from 
heaven as they pretended, but a fantastical way of divination of 
their own invention." — Connect., vol. ii. p. 256, edit. fol. 

Now, supposing that there was so much of real incident as the 
clap of thunder, which, according to the narrative itself, was, in 
the opinion of many present, all that happened, how natural it 
was for John or other disciples to suppose it to be the Bath Kol, 
and first to imagine, and then to relate, the words of the divine 
voice ! 



* Middleton's Examination of the Bishop of London's Discourse on 
Prophecy. 



216 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

Yet, taking into consideration the ascertained characteristics of 
the fourth Gospel, it is perhaps more reasonable to conjecture that 
the whole is merely an embellishment intended to glorify Jesus. 
His ministry had been ushered in by a voice from heaven in all the 
narratives ; in this, its termination is also signalized by the celes- 
tial sign. 

Jairus's The raising of Jairus's daughter, Matt. ix. 18, Mark 

daughter. v. 22 ; Luke viii. 41, is comparatively well attested; 
for Mark, who here plainly brings additional information, agrees 
in the chief points with Matthew. It cannot be supposed to have 
been a concerted contrivance between Jairus and Jesus ; for such 
a contrivance could only have had for its object to convince the 
multitude of the miraculous character of Jesus, and the scene 
would have been acted in public : whereas the multitude were 
excluded, and Jesus admitted only the father, the mother, and three 
of his own disciples — Peter, James, and John. Since Jairus 
applied to him in public, and professed his belief, he could not 
refuse to exert his supposed miraculous power, which, for ought 
he knew, might be sufficient even to raise the dead, since it had been 
found competent to cast out demons. Yet the privacy which he 
sought for the actual performance of the miracle, when his pre- 
vious announcement to the multitude would seem to entitle them 
also to the means of conviction, at least by an immediate report 
from those present, indicates some latent distrust. The disciples, 
according to Mark and Luke, were even forbidden to tell any one 
what had taken place in the house, which secrecy is inexplicable, 
on the supposition of the miracle having been really performed ; 
for as yet there was no disposition to make him a king, and he 
had not been disinclined to perform publicly numerous other 
miracles, of a more dubious sort to modern inquirers, but indubi- 
table in the eyes of the Jewish multitude, viz., casting out demons, 
and healing the sick. If the object of the miracle were to prove 
his divine authority, why should such a decided miracle as raising 
a dead person be kept secret ? 

The point, however, on which the miracle depends is, that the 
child was really dead. Now, the three accounts before us state 
that Jesus said, " The maid is not dead, but sleepeth." So that 
if we believe Jesus himself literally,* the matter is explained at 



* The speech attributed to Jesus by Mark, "Why make ye this ado, 
and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth," is inconsistent with a 
belief on his part that she was really dead ; for, in this case, why should 



IN THE POUR GOSPELS. 217 

once ; and the existence of the story as it now stands is accounted 
for thus : Matthew, or his informant, desirous to exhibit the affair 
as a miracle, by a slight variation converted the first message, 
that the child was dying, into an assertion that she was dead, 
ers\evTT)ffev. Mark, from his additional means of information, gave 
the first original message correctly ; but having also Matthew 
before him, and being himself well disposed to represent the event 
as miraculous, he inserted a second message, coming up fully to 
Matthew's statement, that the maid was dead. This point being 
established at the outset of the story, the rest was accommodated 
to a figurative interpretation of the words of Jesus, and with this 
view probably the addition, "they laughed him to scorn," was 
made. For the reality of this is inconsistent with the opinion 
which the people of Galilee had of Jesus as a prophet, and which 
was shared by Jairus and his household, as is seen by their sending 
for him. With respect to the recovery of the maiden, Matthew 
merely says, " he took her by the hand, and the maid arose." 
Mark says, " straightway she arose, and walked," which might be 
one of his frequent exaggerations. 

Leaving aside the question of the Evangelist's accuracy, the 
story, to have any pretension to truth, must have come from one 
of these six — Peter, James, John, Jairus, his wife, or his daugh- 
ter ; and how can it be shown that each of these was incapable 
of adding such variations as were required to make the story 
miraculous ? And it caunot be doubted that, if any one of these 
had issued it, the story would have appeared sufficiently authentic 
to the majority of the church. 

But, after all, the most simple conclusion may be this : Jesus 
commanded secrecy to those who were with him in the chamber ; 
he was obeyed, and consequently no one else knew exactly what 
took place there ; but, as Matthew says, " a report went abroad 
into all that land," and that report is the story which we now 
have. 

Raising Another account of raising a dead person, viz., the 

the dead widow's son at Nain, is related by Luke only, vii. 11 

— 15. He places it the day after the cure of the centu- 

he choose to say, in so pointed a manner, what was not only incorrect, but 
must throw so much doubt upon the miracle ? The quiet consciousness that 
the words will be undertood finally in a figurative sense, seems to belong 
rather to the narrator, who has his readers in view, than to Jesus, who 
would probably have regard to the impression produced upon his hearers. 
But the objection does not apply, if he be supposed to mean what he said 
literally. 



218 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

rion's servant (or son) at Capernaum. Now, Matthew and John, 
who have related this cure, say nothing concerning the widow's son. 
Luke's motive for inserting the story seems to be the same as for 
inserting verse 21, viz., to make it appear that John's disciples had 
ocular demonstration of the truth of the message they were to 
carry to him. In Matthew's account the mode of expression might 
be taken to imply this, for he makes Jesus say, in answer to the 
question of John's disciples, " Art thou he that should come, or 
do we look for another?" — " Go and shew John again, wKayyuXars 
luawy, the things which ye do hear and see : (the present tense, 
a aKovere km /3\t7rm :) the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, 
the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, 
and the poor have the Gospel preached to them." Luke copies 
nearly all Matthew's account of this discourse concerning John, 
and adds, ver. 21, " And in that same hour he cured many of their 
infirmities, and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many that were 
blind he gave sight." All this mass of miracles, not noticed else- 
where, was plainly done, or said by Luke to be done, in order to 
make the words in Matthew, " which ye hear and see," literally 
true. Now, the raising of the dead at Nain, which Luke makes 
also to be done within the knowledge of John's disciples, com- 
pletes the list of miracles mentioned in the message, and has there- 
fore the appearance of being inserted for that purpose. It seemed 
the more necessary, because Matthew had not given any account 
of raising the dead which could warrant such a message ; for al- 
though he, perhaps, had in his mind his own story of Jairus's 
daughter, yet Mark had prevented subsequent writers from citing 
this for the purpose, by saying that the disciples were commanded 
to tell no man of it. And it has been shown to be highly probable 
that Luke had both Matthew's and Mark's Gospels before him. 

The obvious objection to the reality of this miracle is the little 
notice taken of it. There are only three stories of raising the 
dead by Jesus, and this resurrection at Nain was better worth 
publishing than that of Jairus's daughter, since it occurred in the 
open street, and the death was less doubtful. Matthew and Mark 
could not have forgotten or wilfully suppressed it, and conse- 
quently did not know of it. 

Eaising of John alone relates the raising of Lazarus, which, if 

Lazarus. hi s account were true, was the most splendid and public 
of all the miracles. For, according to him, it was done before 
friends and enemies, without any of the usual prohibitions to tell 
of it : many came to see Lazarus at the supper at Bethany, and 



IN THE POUR GOSPELS. 219 

the people bare record of it when Jesus entered publicly into 
Jerusalem. 

But, notwithstanding all this, neither Matthew, Mark, nor 
Luke, appear to have had any knowledge of the affair ; for not 
only are they silent concerning it, but their accounts do not easily 
admit of its introduction. John puts the supper, at which Lazarus 
sat after his resurrection, one day before the public entry into Jeru- 
salem. But Matthew, as well as Mark and Luke, makes it appear 
that Jesus made his entry into Jerusalem on coming direct from 
Jericho, a distance of about twenty miles ; and that after this he 
took up his abode at Bethany. John's story of Lazarus requires, 
therefore, another previous abode at Bethany, which breaks in 
violently upon the order of events- in Matthew, whose narrative 
seems to exclude the possibility of Jesus having already resided 
for some time so near to Jerusalem as fifteen furlongs. See Matt. 
xix. 1 ; xx. 18, 29 ; xxi. 1. 

The supper at Bethany, also, is related by Matthew long after 
the entrance, although he is not precise as to the date. xxvi. 6. 

This supper is proved to be the same as the one at which John 
says Lazarus was present, by the alabaster box of ointment, and 
the speech of Judas for the poor. Yet Matthew and Mark seem 
quite ignorant of that which John says attracted the Jews, the 
presence of the revived Lazarus. 

The story of Lazarus seems again to be forced upon the atten- 
tion of the first three Evangelists, when they relate the entry of 
Jesus into Jerusalem, and the conduct of the multitude ; for John 
says, that the people then bare record of his having raised Lazarus. 
But here also they make not the slightest allusion to it. 

It is impossible to conceive any plausible reason for this con- 
cealment,* when the same three Evangelists appear so willing to 

* The chief reasons which I have been able to find are, that the first 
three Evangelists studied brevity, and that they were afraid of exposing 
the family at Bethany to the persecution of the Jews. Schleiermacher 
says, " Only under one view does the omission of the raising of Lazarus 
and of the young man at Nain excite no surprise, but seem natural, that is, 
if we suppose that the first written accounts originated in the efforts and 
at the instance of persons who, not personally acquainted with Christ, and 
therefore not in the same sense his contemporaries (as the twelve) sought 
for circumstantial accounts, and aimed at perpetuating by writing the voice 
of oral tradition before it died away. For, on the one hand, these persons 
had less courage to apply to the apostles, who were busily engaged in the 
greater work of preaching and propagating Christianity, except in parti- 
cular cases on an extraordinary inducement, and rather sought out friends 



220 REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES 

relate all the miracles they were acquainted with, and actually 
relate some which were said to be done in secret. That they had 
all forgotten this miracle so completely that it did not once occur 
to them whilst relating the connected circumstances, cannot be 
imagined ; and if any miracle deserved a preference in the eyes of 
narrators disposed to do honour to Christ, or even to give a faithful 
account of him, it was this. 

The Acts and Epistles nowhere allude to this story, although 
it would have afforded Paul a very good instance of the resurrection 
of the body. 1 Cor. xv. 35. 

The first mention, therefore, of the most public and decisive of 
the miracles, appears in a writing published at Ephesus sixty years 
afterwards ; — a distance both of time and place which rendered it 
easy to publish fictitious statements without fear of contradiction. 
Supposing that Jesus had really visited the tomb of Lazarus, and 
told his sisters that he would rise again ; supposing, also, that 
the question had been raised, " Could not this man, who opened 
the eyes of the blind, have prevented Lazarus from dying?" we 
may imagine how great was the temptation, to a writer intent 
upon making his readers believe, to enlarge the incident, by a few 
additional sentences, into a convincing miracle. That the story 
was written with such a view appears throughout, xi. 15, " I am 
glad I was not there, to the intent ye may believe ;" — 27, " I be- 
lieve that thou art the Christ, the Son of God ;" — 42, " I said it, 
that they may believe that thou hast sent me." And although 
much of the story appears very natural, some parts indicate an 
intermixture of fiction. The misapprehension of the disciples con- 
cerning the word " sleep," ver. 12, is, in the usual style of John, 



and hearers of the second class : on the other hand, they of course directed 
their researches principally to places from which they might hope for the 
most abundant harvest, that is, to Capernaum and Jerusalem. At the latter 
place, now, the most recent occurrences naturally left the deepest impres- 
sion on the memory of men ; and hence the portions of the three Gospels, 
which are common to them, consist chiefly of incidents from the different 
periods of Christ's stay at Capernaum, and his last stay at Jerusalem. 
What occurred at other places could not so easily form a part of their 
common stock." — Crit. Essay on Luke, vii. 11 — 50. A very laboured 
excuse ; for the raising of Lazarus was said to have occurred within half 
an hour's walk of Jerusalem, and shortly before the death of Jesus ; and 
however modest or inattentive the writers might have been in their search 
for materials, it is hard to imagine how they could have avoided en- 
countering what must have been talked of by so many, if it had really 
happened. 



IN THE FOUR GOSPELS. 221 

to enhance the effect of the subsequent answer or performance of 
Jesus. Mary's speech, ver. 32, on seeing Jesus, is in the same 
words as Martha's, ver. 21. Martha's first speech implies an ex- 
pectation that Jesus will raise Lazarus, — " I know that even now 
whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee ; " but, on 
coming to the grave, she makes an objection to obeying the order 
of Jesus, quite inconsistent with her previous expectation, but 
which renders the coming event more striking to the reader. The 
same applies to the weeping of Jesus ; it is the novelist's prelude 
to a bright denouement ; but in reality Jesus could not have felt 
so deeply distressed, when conscious of the joyful miracle which 
he was about to operate ; nor can we allow that it was the effect 
of strong emotion combined with uncertainty, because the writer 
had intimated at the very outset that Jesus knew assuredly what 
he was going to perform. Ver. 4 and 11, "This sickness is not 
unto death, but for the glory of God," — " I go that I may awake 
him out of sleep." Martha's confession of faith, ver. 27, is pre- 
cisely the formula in which the author avows the object of his book 
at the end, viz., " believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
God." "Which should come into the world" bears strongly the 
impress of the writer's own peculiar style. The narration of what 
Martha said to Mary secretly, and of what took place in the house, 
in the same tone as the account of what was done where Jesus was, 
betrays the inventor rather than the eye-witness ; for it can hardly 
be supposed that John went backward and forward to draw up a 
report of what happened at both places. The witness of a real event 
of such a kind could scarcely have refrained from entering into 
further particulars concerning the looks and words of Lazarus on 
receiving life again ; but here the story stops short, as if the 
writer's purpose were accomplished in having related a miracle. 

It is remarkable that the raising of Jairus's daughter, which 
was said to be performed in secret, is related by three Evangelist ; 
whilst the other two resurrections, which were said to be public, 
rest each on the testimony of one. The omission of an incident 
by one writer does not always invalidate the narration of it by 
another ; but, considering the extreme importance of the last two 
miracles to the Christian cause, as well as their impressive nature, 
it does seem an insuperable objection that three out of the four 
Evangelists should have neglected or forgotten them. 



CHAPTER IX. 

GENERAL OBJECTIONS TO THE MIRACLES OF JESUS. 

I. He himself put his miracles of healing upon a level with the 
performances of the Jewish exorcists. Matt. xii. 27, " And if I 
by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children* cast them 
out? therefore they shall be your judges." If his cures could not 
more fairly be attributed to Beelzebub than those of the Jews 
to whom he alludes, neither could they more properly be consi- 
dered miracles. But it is only in the present age that such an 
inference excludes the miracle, because in Christ's own time the 
arts of healing and magic were supposed to be closely related, and 
Josephus speaks several times of the casting out of demons as 
performed by miraculous means. f 

II. He recognized the attempts of others as real miracles, 
making no distinction between them and his own. Mark ix. 38, 
39, "And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting 
out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us ; and we forbad 
him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him 
not ; for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name 
that can lightly speak evil of me." There have been many in- 
stances, in all ages of the church, of persons pretending to exorcise 



* Apparently a class countenanced by the Pharisees, but their exact de- 
scription seems uncertain. " Per filios vestros videtur Christus intelligere 
Discipulos aliquos Pharisasorum, hoc est, nonnullos e Judaais, qui exorcismis 
usi videbantur Dasmonia ejicere . . . ." — Lightfoot. Medicine among the 
Jews was the province of the priests ; but from Josephus it appears that 
others assumed not unfrequently the office of exorcising. 

f It might be answered that Jesus here only uses an argumentwm ad 
Jwminem equivalent to this, " You Pharisees believe that your sons cast out 
demons by the Spirit of God, and ought not therefore to attribute my appa- 
rently similar cures to another agency. I know however that mine alone 
do really proceed from the Spirit of God." But to attribute this meaning, 
even in thought, to Jesus, is perfectly gratuitous ; the obvious sense is, that 
Jesus intends sincerely to strengthen his case by the examples in question ; 
and this is supported by the next objection. 



GENERAL OBJECTIONS TO THE MIRACLES OF JESUS. 223 

by merely using the name of some eminent saint or prophet; 
but no satisfactory proof of any thing miraculous is to be found in 
such stories, and in general they are considered undeserving of 
serious attention. Yet the performances of the pretender men- 
tioned by Mark are no more questioned on the score of genuine- 
ness than those of Christ himself.* 

III. He admits that there was more difficulty in performing 
some miracles than others. Matt. xvii. 21, " Howbeit this kind 
goeth not out, but by prayer and fasting." 

IV. He generally required to see that the applicants fully be- 
lieved in his miraculous power before he attempted the cure. 
Matt. ix. 27, " Believe ye that I am able to do this?" ix. 2, "Jesus 
seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy," &c. Mark 
vi. 5, "And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid 
hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled 
because of their unbelief'' This throws much doubt upon the mi- 
racle ; for besides the physical influence which the belief itself 
might bave, the applicant's own credit became in some degree 
pledged to vouch for its performance. When a man has solemnly 
protested that he believes a thing will happen, he is no longer a 
dispassionate observer, but he is ready to strain a point to make 
it appear that he was right. Thus those who had publicly de- 
clared their belief tbat Jesus could cure them, became in some 
measure interested parties ; so that between the real physical 
effect produced on them, and their own goodwill to make it appear 
greater, a bystander might easily be led to think a miracle had 
been done. But a divine power could not need such a belief on 
the part of the applicants ; on the contrary, one would rather 



* Middle ton says, (in the Inqmry into the Miraculous Powers of the 
Early Ch urch,) the Fathers allowed the power of casting out devils to both 
Jews and Gentiles, as well before as after our Saviour's coming. Justin 
Martyr says, " All devils yield and submit to the name of Jesus, when they 
would not to any other name of their kings, prophets, or patriarchs ; yet if 
any should exorcise them in the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, they would in Like manner submit. For your exorcists, as well as 
the Gentiles, use this art in exorcising, together with certain fumes and 
ligatures." — Dial, with Trypho, part 2. 

" The Jews even now by this same invocation of the name of God drive 
away devils." — Irenseus, 1. 2, c. 5. 

"If a man invoke by the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, the devils will obey, and do what they are commanded ; but if he 
translate those names, according to their meaning, into any other language, 
they will have no force at all," — Origen con. Celsum, 1. 5. 



224 GENERAL OBJECTIONS TO THE 

expect it to be displayed where there was no such belief, in order 
that the miracle might be more indisputable. 

V. The answers usually given by Jesus were of such a nature 
as to dismiss the applicants without any injury to his own credit, 
whatever might be the result. Matt. viii. 13, " Go thy way, and 
as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." ix. 29, "Accord- 
ing to your faith be it unto you." xv. 23, " And his disciples 
besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us . . . 
28, Jesus answered and said unto her, woman, great is thy faith; 
be it unto thee even as thou wilt." Mark x. 52, " Go thy way, 
thy faith hath saved thee." John ix. 7, "Go, wash in the pool of 
Siloam." 

VI. In Matthew and Mark, the more decided miracles, such as 
raising the dead, curing the blind, &c, are admitted to have been 
done in secret. Matt. viii. 4, "Jesus saith unto him, (the leper,) 
See thou tell no man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest," 
&c. ix. 30, " And Jesus straightly charged them, (the blind men,) 
saying, See that no man know it." Mark v. 43, "And he charged 
them straitly that no man should know it" (the rasing of Jairus's 
daughter), vii. 36, "And he charged them that they should tell 
no man" (the cure of a deaf and dumb man). It is generally 
added, that notwithstanding the secrecy of the affair itself, the 
report of it was soon published abroad. Now, since the best autho- 
rities, Jesus himself and those present, must have been silent, (for 
it can hardly be supposed that his immediate followers so boldly 
disobeyed him,) it may be fairly doubted whether the report, which 
by some means got abroad, was exactly true, and consequently 
whether the stories before us, foundedprobably on these reports, 
(for in none of them do the writers say they were present, or name 
their authority,) are exactly true ; in which doubt we are obliged 
to bring in other considerations to help us to ascertain the real 
facts, as has been already attempted. The motive for Jesus's in- 
junction of secrecy is supposed by some to be his fear lest the 
people should make him a king ; but it is remarkable that the 
only Evangelist who attributes this fear to Jesus, John vi. 15, re- 
lates chiefly miracles done in the most public manner, viz., the 
marriage feast, the feeding of the multitude, the raising of La- 
zarus, &c. ; from which it appears to have been at least his im- 
pression, that Jesus did not in general seek secrecy for his miracles. 
Matthew and Mark themselves relate abundance of miracles, of 
casting out demons, and healing the sick, as performed in the most 
public manner. The exception, therefore, in the cases alluded to, 



MIRACLES OF JESUS. 225 

leaves them open to one or other of these objections: — either that 
Jesus required the secrecy because the miracle would not bear 
public inspection ; or that the narrators, aware that the miracu- 
lous part was a later addition, endeavoured to make the whole ap- 
pear consistent by saying that it was by Jesus's command that it 
had been kept secret. 

VII. The miracles were chiefly performed among the country 
people of Galilee, according to Matthew and Mark. The former 
says, in a loose manner, xxi. 14, "And the blind and the lame 
came to him in the temple, and he healed them." But with this 
exception, and that of the fig-tree, he gives no specific account of 
any one miracle from the arrival of Jesus at Jerusalem till his 
death. Thus, the miracles of Jesus agree, in one remarkable cir- 
cumstance, with the majority of those related elsewhere ; viz. they 
were performed among classes least capable of distinguishing be- 
tween the natural and supernatural. 

VIII. When Jesus was asked to do a public miracle in attesta- 
tion of his divine mission, he not only refused to do it, but did not 
even appeal to his previous miracles. Matt. xvi. 1 — 4, " The 
Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and, tempting, desired him 
that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and 
said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather; 
for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather 
to-day ; for the sky is red and lowering. ye hypocrites, ye can 
discern the face of the sky ; but can ye not discern the signs of 
the times ? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a 
sign ; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of 
the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed." Nothing 
is said of the sign of Jonas in the corresponding place in Mark, 
viii. 11. A similar but more pointed application is related by 
John, vi. 30, " They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest 
thou, that we may see and believe ? What dost thou work ? our 
fathers did eat manna in the desert." The answer is an assertion, 
not of his miraculous power, but that he himself is the bread of 
heaven. It is true that Jesus is made to appeal to his miracles 
in answer to John the Baptist's disciples, and several times in the 
discourses attributed to him by John, v. 36, x. 38, xiv. 10. Yet 
the above instances are sufficient to show that he did not usually 
rely upon them as the means of convincing opponents. Nor is it 
a sufficient answer that the applications were made to him in a 
captious spirit, and were therefore unworthy of notice. The de- 
mand of a sign or miraculous attestation has been acknowledged 

p 



226 GENERAL OBJECTIONS TO THE 

to be reasonable by all asserting tbe divine authority of Jesus 
after his own lifetime ; consequently from the days of Matthew 
and John to our own, Christians have been eager to meet it with 
plentiful accounts of miracles. Moreover, Jesus himself did not 
pass over the demand on such a pretext. John ii. 18, " Then an- 
swered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto 
us, seeing that thou doest these things ? Jesus answered and 
said unto them, Destroy this temple," (they were in the temple at 
Jerusalem,) " and in three days I will raise it up." From the 
following verses it appears that all about him at the time under- 
stood him to mean the real temple, and so Matthew and Mark 
seem to have understood it ; for they each twice quote the saying, 
without giving the least hint that it had any other sense. Matt, 
xxvi. 61, xxvii. 40 ; Mark xiv. 58, xv. 29. John alone says that 
Jesus meant the temple of his body, allowing, however, that it 
was only after he was risen from the dead that this sense was attri- 
buted to the words. Now, if this were the true version of the 
matter, that Jesus intended his answer to be unintelligible or de- 
ceptive to the actual questioners, and convincing to his own 
disciples only after his death, he seems to have partially failed ; 
for two out of the three Evangelists, who have mentioned the say- 
ing, appear to have been as much in the dark concerning its 
meaning as the Jews themselves. But if, like the latter, we take 
the saying in its obvious and literal sense, it shows that Jesus did 
not, on this occasion at least, object to the demand of a miraculous 
sign ; but by his meeting it in this manner, rather than by doing 
a miracle, or by appealing to some noted one already done,* such 
as the raising of Lazarus, it is plain that the subsequent custom of 
referring objectors to these miracles was not adopted by himself. 
Consequently the genuineness of those parts of his discourses which 
appeal to his miracles becomes liable to suspicion ; especially 
since other considerations lead us to conjecture that both John 
and Matthew were in the habit of attributing to Jesus sayings 
merely representing subsequent ideas and doctrines. 

The demand of a sign, in attestation of a claim to the Messiah- 
ship, was far from unreasonable, according to current Jewish 
ideas.f Jehovah himself has prescribed this method of proof to 



* The clearing of the temple fixes the date of the conversation to the 
time after Jesus's last visit to Jerusalem. 

f Tanchum, fol. 54.4. R. Acha said, "Whatsoever things God is about 
to do, those hath he already done by the hands of just men in the times of 



MIRACLES OF JESUS. 227 

Moses. His rod was to become a serpent, " that they might be- 
lieve that the Lord God had appeared to him;" and if this did 
not convince, other signs were appointed, Exod. iv. 1 — 9. Elijah 
had brought down fire and rain from heaven ; Elisha had raised 
the dead, multiplied oil, cured a leper, fed an hundred men with 
inadequate supplies, caused iron to swim, and smitten an army 
with blindness. ' It was expected that the Messiah would be 
accredited at least equally with his predecessors. But Jesus re- 
plies, " no sign shall be given to this generation." This must 
have been understood, and justly, as declining to rest his title to 
the Messiahship on the ground of miraculous credentials. He 
might be aware that his expulsions of demons and other cures of 
healing were not sufficient to put forward as meeting the demand ; 
but how could he have given this answer if he knew that he was 
commissioned to work miracles, in proof of his mission, fully as 
decisive as those of his supposed forerunners ? " No sign shall 
be given to this generation," from the mouth of one who was to 
raise Lazarus and receive a voice from Heaven expressly as signs, 
would be both suicidal and false. But the whole is clear when we 
admit that, whatever real occurrences might form the basis of the 
miraculous stories in the Gospels, these, being not unparalleled 
by the performances of other Jewish exercisers,^ could not furnish 
the required indisputable credentials of the Messiah : whereas the 



the Old Testament. God will raise the dead, which he hath already done by 
Elias, Elisha, and Ezekiel. He will dry the sea, as was done by Moses. 
He will open the eyes of the blind, which he did by Elisha, &c." 

It appears merely the performance of their duty, that the Sanhedrim 
should send a deputation to inquire into the nature of the authority claimed 
by persons assuming the guidance of the people : and if a divine authority 
were claimed, nothing could be more conformable to the spirit of the laws 
of Moses, than to require an indubitable miraculous attestation. 

* Celsus probably gave the general opinion of the more educated classes 
m his time respecting miracles of healing, exorcising, &c, when he said that 
abundance of them might be seen in the streets for a few oboli. (Orig. adv. 
Cels., lib. i. § 68.) " H those things were even true, which are written about 
cures, and raising of the dead, and a few loaves feeding multitudes, and 
whatsoever things the apostles have magnified, yet he (Celsus) considers 
them common by the side of the jugglers' performances, who promise things 
more wonderful still, and by the side of things executed by the scholars of 
Egyptians, who in the midst of the market-places, for a few oboli, sell their 
venerable lessons, expel demons, cure diseases, call upon the souls of heroes, 
show as sumptuous feasts, cates, and sauces, things which are not such, and 
put in motion as animals things not really animals, but appearing such by 
ocular deception. And he- says; granting that they do these things, must 



228 GENERAL OBJECTIONS TO THE 

unrestrained legend might supply them in abundance, and would 
naturally overlook the inconsistency which this would occasion in 
reference to the above relic of the history of Jesus.* 

IX. In most of the narratives, the saying of Jesus and the in- 
cidents leading to it form the most conspicuous part ; the accom- 
panying miracle is but a brief echo. " I will, be thou clean ; and 
immediately his leprosy was cleansed." "Arise, take up thy bed, 
and go into thine house. And he arose, and departed to his 
house." " Thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was 
made whole from that hour." Therefore, in so far as the narra- 
tive preserves any historical reality, this most probably lies in the 
saying itself, and the circumstances which gave rise to it. The 
miraculous fulfilment, if true, would have formed the most im- 
pressive part of the incident, and would have been related with at 
least equal emphasis and circumstantiality with the previous por- 
tion. Take for instance the case of the Syrophenician woman, 
Matt. xv. 21 — 28. The incidents and dialogue are related with 
much force, and probably with a great degree of truth, including 
the final answer of Jesus, " woman, great is thy faith : be it 
unto thee even as thou wilt." But here, the very point where the 
greatest interest begins instead of ends, we are dismissed with the 
careless completion, " and her daughter was made whole from that 
very hour." How did the disciples know this ? for the daughter 
was at a distance. What messengers arrived from the woman's 
house, or when did they meet the daughter, and learn the fact ? 
The absence of any means of information of this kind, which must 
have appeared worth relating, inevitably leads us to infer that 
they, or the intermediate narrators, learned this important conclu- 
sion simply by means of their faith in Jesus. He spake the word, 
therefore the thing must have so happened. 

we account them sons of God, or not rather conclude that these are the 
pursuits of wicked and unhappy men ? " 

Paul seems to be conscious that arts of healing were of a comparatively 
low grade in the scale of divine gifts. 1 Cor. xii. 9, 28. 

* The writer of the first Gospel might have endeavoured to obviate this 
inconsistency as far as his own Gospel was concerned, by the addition, "but 
the sign of the prophet Jonas." I incline to consider Mark's version, which 
omits this, the most probable ; because if Jesus did not predict his death 
and resurrection, the sign of Jonas in reference to this is evidently a later 
addition. And Jonas could not well be called a sign in any other sense, 
because he was merely to preach warnings to the Ninevites. Yet if so much 
were granted that Jesus had added the parallel between himself and Jonas, 
the above reasoning still applies, for it was still an evasion of the kind of 
sign which the Pharisees and Jewish expectation demanded. 



MIKACLES OF JE8TJS. 229 

In some cases, particulars are given of what followed the say- 
ing ; but these we have seen do not confirm us in the idea that 
there happened any thing really miraculous, but rather the con- 
trary. See chap. viii. p. 267. 

The cure of the nobleman's son, John iv., is only an apparent 
exception. For although it is said that the servants met the no- 
bleman, and gave him a report of what had happened to his son, 
all this was out of the knowledge of the disciples, unless one of 
them had gone with the nobleman to obtain proof of the cure ; 
which veiy circumstance would have formed an important incident 
in the real scene. We have here the omniscience of the novelist, 
instead of the one-sided or local knowledge which must belong to 
an eye-witness. The same remark applies to the story of the 
blind man, John ix. Who was this narrator, and where could he 
have been, that he knows so well the words and thoughts of .so 
many actors in different places ? An ingenious hypothesis might 
certainly explain how John could place himself in the way of be- 
holding and hearing all that was essential to the stoiy, whilst near 
Jesus, the man, his neighbours, parents, the Pharisees, &c. But 
nothing in the narrative indicates the movements of an active re- 
porter of this kind ; the more obvious conclusion is one of these : 
either that the narrative proceeds from a dramatist, or from the 
Holy Spirit.* 

X. None of those on whom the miracles were said to be per- 
formed come forwai-d themselves to attest them in the subsequent 
part of the history, or play any conspicuous part in the affairs of 
the church, as gathered from the Acts and Epistles. The author 
of the Gospel of Nicodemus, which appeared at the end of the 
third century, has endeavoured to remedy the omission by making 
the centurion, the blind men, &c, give evidence before Pilate ; 
but this forgery only renders the absence of any historical testi- 
mony to the same effect the more striking. 

XL Xone of the miracles produce any effect upon indisputable 
historical facts ; but events go on in a natural course without the 



* The latter would doubtless be the solution of the 'writer himself : see 
John siv. 25 ; xv. 26. But -with the metaphysics of that time, the effect of 
imagination and the dictates of the Holy Spirit might be easily confounded. 
The undoubted discrepancies in the Evangelists must destroy the hypothesis 
of a Holy Spirit as the communicator of historical facts. Paley quietly 
rests the question on the credibility and means of knowledge of the narra- 
tors. The doctrine of plenary inspiration would have rendered the greater 
part of his work unnecessary. 



230 GENERAL OBJECTIONS TO THE 

slightest symptom of supernatural disturbance. The Eomans 
keep possession of Judea ; Jesus is put to death as an innovator ; 
his followers increase like other sects, by means of proselytism. 
All the miraculous consists of mere accessory incidents, which may 
be shaken off without hurt to the integrity of profane history, or 
even to the chief features of the gospel history itself. The career 
of Jesus is intelligible enough, although none of the cures were 
really supernatural, although no water were turned into wine, nor 
any loaves multiplied. The earthquakes and darkness leava not 
the slightest vestiges in history.* The utmost political effect 
attributed by the Evangelists themselves to the miracles of Jesus, 
is frequent alarm among the Pharisees, which if not overstated for 
the sake of dramatic interest, might very well proceed from other 
causes. It has been shown that the adherence of some followers 
by no means requires the admission of a real supernatural power. 

A miracle producing some effect which must have been noticed 
in the history of Judea, — the sudden dispersion of a legion, the 
removal of a procurator, the subversion of buildings, for instance — 
would have appeared to obtain some collateral support ; although 
in such a case also we must have weighed the greater probability 
of natural or supernatural causes. But all the parts of the Gospel 
history confirmed by contemporary writers, the government of 
Pilate, the death of John the Baptist, the features of the Jewish 



* The elder Pliny and Seneca have each left a work recording all the 
great phenomena of nature, earthquakes, comets, eclipses, &c, which they 
could collect. Seneca Qusest. Natur., 1. i. 15 ; vi. 1 ; vii. 17. Plin. His. Nat. 
1. ii. But there is nothing applicable to the narrative of Matthew. Pliny 
describes a singular paleness of the sun in the year following the death of 
Cassar. 

Phlegon of Tralles (about A.D. 141), in a passage quoted by Eusebius, 
said that "in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (the 18th or 19th year 
of Tiberius, 32 or 33 A.D. according to common computation), there was 
an eclipse of the sun, the greatest of any known before. And it was night 
at the sixth hour of the day, so that the stars appeared in the heavens. 
And there was a great earthquake in Bithynia, which overturned many 
houses in Nice." But Lardner, after a careful review of all that had been 
said on this passage, concludes both that Phlegon had no intention of allud- 
ing to the events accompanying Christ's passion, and that his passage cannot 
apply to them. Indeed the oldest objection is decisive, that an eclipse of 
the sun could not happen at the time of the passover, i. e. of the full moon. 
Heath. Test., ch. xiii. According to the calculations of some able astrono- 
mers referred to by Lardner (Dr. Sykes' Dissertation on the Eclipse of 
Phlegon), there was a great eclipse of the sun in November A.D. 29, in the 
first year of the 202nd Olympiad. 



MIRACLES OF JESUS. 231 

sects, &c, are simply natural. Follow the vein of supernatural 
throughout, and it either shuns or breaks itself upon the historical 
strata. When the narrative brings Jesus into connexion with 
Herod the tetrarch, the former does not convert him by a miracle, 
or brave his power as an invulnerable prophet, but retires with his 
followers. At Jerusalem, nothing occurs beyond a temporary en- 
thusiasm of the multitude. The declaration attributed to him on 
his apprehension, that he could have obtained twelve legions of 
angels by prayer, only reminds us more forcibly of the absence of 
any collision of miraculous power with the powers of the world. 

It is certainly not inconceivable that a divine power should have 
exerted itself only in such a manner, and on such occasion, as to 
avoid all contact with the political history of the time ; but this 
mode of exertion leaves the evidence destitute of a very important 
kind of proof. 

XII. The supposed miracles had no effect on many of those 
who lived in the time of Jesus, and were most capable of appre- 
ciating them. John vii. 5, " For neither did his brethren believe 
in him." xii. 37, " But though he had done so many miracles 
before them (the people), yet they believed not on him." Matt. 
xi. 20, " Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his 
mighty works were done, because they repented not." Mark vi. 
52, '.' For they (the disciples) considered not the miracle of the 
loaves, for their heart was hardened." By comparing this with 
Mark xvi. 14, it is plain that the hardness of heart meant a back- 
wardness to believe the miracle, although the account purports 
that it had just been done before them. Now, an imperfect be- 
lief immediately after the event, growing into a certainty long 
afterwards, is just contrary to the process one would expect to see 
if a miracle had really been done. Then the conviction would be 
most vivid on the first sight of it. At first the senses declare un- 
equivocally and impartially the impressions made upon them ; but 
the memory seldom preserves long those impressions distinct and 
unmixed. Passion, prejudice, and interest, gradually diminish, 
add to, or confuse the image ; till, at last, the view remaining in 
the mind, instead of being a faithful picture of the real event, is 
one formed by the joint contributions of the memory, the imagi- 
nation, and the feelings. Thus, from the instance referred to, it 
appears that even the disciples had some difficulty in believing the 
miracles at first ; and since the disbelief of them came to be stig- 
matized as hardness of heart, we may infer that their more confi- 
dent assertion of them in later times was owing to a persuasion 



232 GENERAL OBJECTIONS TO THE MIRACLES OF JESUS. 

that scepticism on this point was a betrayal of the cause of their 
Master.* 



* The object of this work being chiefly an examination of historical 
evidence, it does not enter into the arguments arising from general con- 
siderations concerning the nature of miracles, and their agreement or dis- 
agreement with the rest of the divine government. But lately some thoughts 
of this kind have been suggested to me, by an eminent writer of the present 
day, which deserve much attention. 

The improved science of modern times proves that disease and premature 
death are the penalties annexed to the abuse of men's powers, and are, in 
reality, a benevolent provision in order to restrict men to those limits which 
allow of their greatest moral and physical enjoyment. To remove the 
penalty in any individual case is so far a cancelling of the general divine 
law ; but to impart such knowledge as shall prevent the penalty from being 
incurred again, is consistent with it. 

It may be presumed that the different parts of the divine plans harmo- 
nize with each other, and, therefore, that credentials given by the Deity 
would not consist in infringements of his own laws. 

Christ, by raising the widow's son at Nain, removed the natural penalty 
of the youth's own ill-regulated conduct, or that of his fathers. But if he 
had taken that occasion to make known the connexion established between 
imprudence and suffering, by explaining the causes which led to that young 
man's premature death, he would have acted in accordance with the divine 
laws, he would have saved many widows' sons from the same fate, and 
would have given a more permanent and convincing proof of his being a 
man sent from God. 

Most of the miracles attributed to Christ are of the same kind, viz. the 
removal of natural penalties. If, on opening the book which records his 
claims as a divine messenger, we were to find, instead of these stories of 
such difficult verification, declarations of the causes of blindness, fever, 
and palsy, and warnings to mankind to abstain from the courses which lead 
to such evils, the book would cany with it an evidence increasing with the 
lapse of ages ; since the possession of such knowledge by a person in the 
age, country, and circumstances of Christ, would be as miraculous as any 
of the works referred to : and all readers, on finding that the results of the 
most advanced stages of human knowledge had been anticipated by the 
peasant of Galilee, must themselves exclaim, " Whence had this man this 
knowledge, having never learned ? " and, " Babbi, we know that thou art a 
teacher sent by God, for no man could have this wisdom unless God were 
with him." 

It is said that the moral teaching of Christ presents evidence of this kind, 
which subject will be considered. 



CHAPTEB X. 

REMARKS ON THE MIRACLES IN THE ACTS OF THE 
APOSTLES. 

If the miracles attributed to Jesus himself be false, the same is 
likely to be the case with those attributed to the apostles, for they 
professed to derive whatever power they had from him. Never- 
theless, it is more satisfactory to examine such direct evidence as 
there is for these also. 

The evidence rests mainly on the testimony of the author of 
the Acts, who himself intimates that he is the same as the author 
of the third Gospel, and who has been supposed by all antiquity 
to be Luke the companion of Paul, a man of more education, as 
appears by his style, than most of the first disciples. If he be the 
same as Silas, which there are some grounds for supposing,* it 
seems that he joined the church previously to the year 52 ; for 
Silas is first mentioned, Acts xv. 22, in connexion with Barsabas, 
as being a chief man among the brethren. Barsabas was one of 
those who had companied with the apostles in the lifetime of 
Jesus, Acts i. 21 ; but it is unlikely tnat Silas (or Luke) had 
done so, because in his Gospel he only lays claim to having had 
his information from those who were eye-witnesses from the be- 
ginning, and not to have been an eye-witness himself. Therefore 
it is probable that neither was he an eye-witness of the trans- 
actions immediately after the death of Jesus ; nor, indeed, till a 
short time before the council at Jerusalem, A. D. 52, since there 
are many chasms in his history previously to that date. The 
events up to that time must therefore be considered mainly as what 
the author had learned from others. Although there be not proof 
that he inserted fictions knowingly, yet from his relating the 
stories of the healing of Malchus's ear, and the angel in the gar- 
den, it appears at least that he was not in the habit of investi- 
gating closely stories brought to him, provided they appeared 

* See chap. v. 



234 REMARKS ON THE MIRACLES 

honourable to the common cause ; and it has been shown that he 
indulged in the practice common to the historians of his time, of 
inventing suitable speeches for his personages. 

It is plain from the Acts that the author himself took a zealous 
part in the affairs of the church, and it was therefore to be ex- 
pected that he should share the prevailing disposition to do honour 
to the cause by publishing its miracles ; accordingly, almost every 
transaction has a miraculous turn given to it. When Stephen is 
condemned, he sees Jesus in the heavens ; when Philip goes to 
Gaza, it is by command of an angel of the Lord ; when he ap- 
proaches the chariot of the eunuch, it is also by command of the 
Spirit ; and when he leaves him, he is caught away by the Spirit, 
and found at Azotus.* Before Peter and Cornelius meet, Corne- 
lius has a vision to tell him to send for Peter, and Peter has a 
vision to prepare him for the message. The angel of Cornelius 
goes into such particulars as to give him the address of Peter at 
Simon the tanner's, which he might very well have learned from 
common report, or from any one of the Christians in Judea. 
When Paul reaches the coast of Asia opposite to Macedonia, a 
vision appears to him in the night to tell him to go over into 
Macedonia. When Herod dies of a disease, he is smitten by an 
angel of the Lord. 

In this last instance, we have the means of comparing Luke's 
account with that of another author, nearly cotemporary. Josephus 
relates thus the death of Herod Agrippa : 

Antiq., book xix., chap, viii., sect. 2, "Now, when Agrippa had reigned 
three years over all Judea, he came to the city Cesarea, which was formerly 
called Strato's Tower ; and there he exhibited shows in honour of Caesar, 
upon his being informed that there was a certain festival celebrated to make 
vows for his safety. At which festival, a great multitude was gotten to- 
gether of the principal persons, and such as were of dignity through his 
province. On the second day of which shows, he put on a garment made 
wholly of silver, and of a contexture truly wonderful, and came into the 
theatre early in the morning ; at which time, the silver of his garment 
being illuminated by the fresh reflection of the sun's rays upon it, shone 
out after a surprising manner, and was so resplendent as to spread a horror 
over those that looked intently upon him : and presently his flatterers cried 
out, one from one place and another from another (though not for his good), 
that he was a god : and they added, Be thou merciful to us ; for although 



* The distance from Gaza to Azotus is about thirty miles, a less journey 
than many of those performed by Jesus and the apostles ; so that the chief 
object of this miracle appears to have been to increase the faith of the 
eunuch, or of the readers of the Acts. 



IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 235 

we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth 
own thee as superior to mortal nature. Upon this, the king did neither 
rebuke them nor reject their impious flattery. But, as he presently after- 
wards looked up, he saw an owl sitting on a certain rope over his head, and 
immediately understood that this bird was the messenger of ill tidings, as 
it had once been the messenger of good tidings to him ;* and fell into the 
deepest sorrow. A severe pain also arose in his belly, and began in a most 
violent manner. He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, ' I, whom 
you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life, while Provi- 
dence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me ; and I, who 
was by you called immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. 
But I am bound to accept of what Providence allots, as it pleases God ; for 
we have by no means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy manner.' When 
he said this, his pain was become violent. Accordingly he was carried into 
the palace ; and the rumour went abroad every where that he would certainly 
die in a little time. But the multitude presently sat in sackcloth, with their 
wives and children, after the law of their country, and besought God for the 
king's recovery. AH places were also full of mourning and lamentation. 
Now the king rested in a high chamber, and, as he saw them below lying 
prostrate on the ground, he could not forbear weeping. And when he had 
been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this 
life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and the seventh year of his 
reign." 

Notwithstanding the owl, it is plain from this that there was 
nothing miraculous in the matter ; but it was very easy to relate 
the story in such a way as to make it appear so. Luke has done 
this more completely than Josephus, by presenting us with an angel 
instead of an owl, and by leaving us to suppose that Herod gave 
xrp the ghost immediately ,\ whilst it appears from Josephus that 
he was ill five days before he died 

From an author thus evidently disposed to see ordinary occur- 
rences in a miraculous ligbt, capable of exaggerating, or of receiv- 
ing the exaggerations of others, and also of calling in his own 
imagination to round off the discourses of his personages, marvel- 
lous stories must be received with much suspicion. It is not such 
testimony that can make us believe in contradiction to our own 
experience of nature : and the greater part of the miracles in the 
Acts rest exclusively on such testimony ; for not one of the mi- 



* When Agrippa was bound by order of Tiberius, an owl appeared on the 
tree against which he leaned ; and a German fellow-prisoner foretold to him 
that he would soon recover his liberty, but that, when the bird appeared 
again, he would only have five days to live. Antiq., xviii. 6. 

f Acts xii. 23, " And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, 
because he gave not God the glory : and he was eaten of worms, and gave 
up the ghost." 



286 REMARKS ON THE MIRACLES 

raculous incidents there recorded is confirmed (it is doubtful if even 
alluded to) in the Epistles or other writings of the apostles. 
The gift of The first miracle, after the ascension, is the descent 
tongues. f t k e Spirit in the shape of cloven tongues, like as of 
fire, on the day of Pentecost. The Jews believed that their pro- 
phets spoke and acted under the influence of a divine inspiration 
coming upon them on certain occasions, called the Spirit of the 
Lord, or the Holy Ghost. In the prophet Joel, it is promised 
that, in the future greatness of Israel, in addition to peace and 
fertility of soil, the Spirit should be given abundantly. 

Joel ii. 28, " And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my 
spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your 
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions : and also 
upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my 
spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and 
fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the 
moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And 
it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall 
be delivered ; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as 
the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." See also 
Isaiah xliv. 3. 

The disciples, believing that their own times were those of the 
accomplishment of the prophecies, applied to their own society these 
promises of the spirit. In circumstances favourable to excitement, 
at public meetings, on solemn occasions, at the baptism of new 
converts, and the like, the belief in and expectation of the influence 
was sufficient to bring the minds of some to a state of ecstacy, 
which was considered to be its actual manifestation ; in this state 
the agitation of the mind found a vent in certain incoherent expres- 
sions, which being supposed to be the outpouring of the Spirit, and 
yet, in fact, being unintelligible, were called an unknown language. 
These fits, natural in some, were soon imitated and improved upon 
by others, for the sake of attracting attention. Some words of 
real foreign, or kindred languages, having found their way into 
these rhapsodies, a report might easily be spread that the Holy 
Spirit gave the power of speaking in other languages. It is very 
probable that some excitement of this sort did take place at the 
assembly of the disciples on the day of Pentecost, and Luke has 
given the improved account which came to him some years after- 
wards. The rushing mighty wind might be a real circumstance 
exaggerated ; the visible tongues of fire a later addition ; the 
speech of the multitude, v. 7 — 12, the invention of Luke himself; 



IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 237 

and that of Peter what he considered Peter would have said on 
such an occasion, and which probably does in its main features 
represent Peter's sentiments correctly, since Luke (or Silas) must 
have often heard him. 

There is no evidence elsewhere that the apostles had acquired 
supematurally the use of other languages. That generally spoken 
throughout the eastern provinces of the Roman empire was the 
Greek ;* and owing to the continual intercourse with Roman tax- 
gatherers and soldiers, even the lower classes of Jews dwelling in 
towns could not but acquire some rude knowledge of it. Campbell 
acknowledges that the Greek of the New Testament is a " barbarous 
idiom."| " The writings of the New Testament are such as, in 
respect of style, could not have been written but by Jews, and 
hardly even by Jews superior in rank and education to those whose 
names they bear." . . . . " The homeliness of their diction, when 
criticised by the rules of grammarians and rhetoricians, is what all 
the most learned and judicious of the Greek fathers frankly owned." 
" If any one contends," says Erasmus, | " that the apostles were 
inspired by God with the knowledge of all tongues, and that this 
gift was perpetual in them, since every thing which is performed 
by a divine power is more perfect, according to Saint Chrysostom, 
than what is performed either in the ordinary course of nature or 
by the pains of man, how comes it to pass that the language of the 
apostles is not only rough and unpolished, but imperfect ; also 
confused, and sometimes even plainly solecising and absurd ? for 
we cannot possibly deny what the fact itself declares to be true. — 
When the apostles write in Greek, they borrow much from their 
own Hebrew ; as at this day, men of little learning, when they 
talk Latin, always mix somewhat with it of their native tongue." 

Origen says,§ " The Jewish prophets and the disciples of Jesus 
renounced all artful composition of words, and what the Scripture 
calls man's wisdom, and fleshly wisdom." " But the apostles 
being sensible of their imperfection in this respect, and that they 
had not been educated in human learning, own themselves rude in 
speech, though not in knowledge."^" Jerome says,|| " There appear 



* Grasca leguntur in omnibus fere gentibus : Cicero pro Archia. 

f Dissertations, vol. i. p. 20. 

j Annot. in Act, x. 38. 

§ Cont. Cels. t. vii. 

% Philoc. cap. iv. 

|| Ad algas. 



238 REMARKS ON THE MIRACLES 

in Paul's Epistles several words peculiar to the dialect of his own 
city and country. We repeat, that Paul spoke truly, and not by 
way of humility, when he called himself 'rude in speech, but not 
in knowledge.' For his tongue is unable to express his deep and 
abstruse meanings. And feeling himself what he speaks about, 
he cannot transfer it to others' ears in clear language. Being a 
Hebrew of the Hebrews, and learned enough in his vernacular 
language, he was unable to express his deep meanings in another 
tongue, nor did he take much pains concerning words when he had 
made his meaning safe."* " In this place, (Col. ii. 23,) there is 
a surperfluous conjunction ; which error we find the apostle to 
have committed in many places, owing to his unskilfulness in the 
rules of grammar. "f " We do not attack the apostle when we 
notice his solecisms, but rather defend him, since we show that it 
must have been by the power of God, and not by grace of speech, 
that he evangelized the world .... He therefore who commits sole- 
cisms in his words, who cannot translate an inverted construction 
of words, and finish a sentence, boldly claims to himself wisdom," 
&c.$ 

In the Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul says that he speaks 
with tongues more than they all ; so that it is probable that he 
possessed the gift in at least an equal degree with any of the other 
apostles or converts ; yet if the above testimony of Origen and 
Jerome can be trusted, his knowledge of Greek, the most neces- 
sary tongue, was no more than what might be acquired by natural 
means by one in his station, certainly less perfect than what might 
have been expected to be given by divine inspiration. Moreover, 
though he does not absolutely condemn the exercise of this or any 
other supposed gift of the Spirit, he speaks of it on the whole in 
a depreciating manner. " I had rather speak five words with my 
understanding, that I might teach others also, than ten thousand 
words in an unknown tongue," 1 Cor. xii. 10 ; and intimates 
pretty clearly that the gift was becoming an annoyance : " If, 
therefore, the whole church be come together into one place, and 
all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned 
and unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad ?" v. 23. He 
says, that " tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but 
to them that believe not ; " but he does not attribute to them the 



* Hieron. in Gal. cap. vi. 
f Ad algas. 
j In Eph. iii. 



IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 239 

use for which Luke supposes them to have been given, viz. to 
preach to nations of other tongues. This silence of Paul, when 
treating expressly on the subject, leads us to thiuk that no such 
use had been found to result from the supposed gift : consequently 
that the power was never given. 

The cure of the lame man by Peter and John can The lame 
be considered miraculous only on the strength of the man - 
statement that he had been lame from his birth, which was not 
easy for Luke to know in the case of a man forty years old. 
Many a beggar receiving alms on the score of lameness is yet 
able, in some degree, to use his legs when helped up, and on a 
sudden impulse. A similar story is told of Paul, ch. xiv. ; but 
here it is added that Paul looked at him, and perceived that he 
had faith to be healed ; which was probably the case also in the 
former instance. The whole story of the lame man, and of the 
subsequent examination of Peter and John, bears the appearance 
of the warm and coloured representation of the partizan, rather 
than the cool account of an impartial observer. The length and 
vigour of the speeches ascribed to Peter, who is said to be filled 
with the Holy Ghost, compared with the tameness and want of 
argument on the part of his opponents, shows too evidently a dis- 
position to set off the apostle to advantage. Even though the 
man who had been healed were present, such men as Annas and 
the rulers would surely have been clever enough to find something 
to say against it ; but, according to Luke, the presence of the 
man confounds them, they send the apostles aside, and confer 
among themselves, saying, "What shall we do to these men ? for, 
indeed, that a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest 
to all them that dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it." This 
is more than a candid admission on the part of Annas and the 
council ; it is the exaggeration of a zealous defender of the apostles : 
for the miracle could not be manifest to all in Jerusalem ; and 
that it was a real miracle, no one was obliged to say, or could say 
properly, until the man had been further examined, and the nature 
of his previous lameness as well as the reality of his cure had been 
better ascertained. The confident and unaltered tone of Luke in 
relating what was said in the secret council, shows that he is here 
using the dramatic historian's privilege of attributing thoughts 
and speeches to his characters ; and, as was to be expected, he 
turns it to good account on behalf of the apostles. This appears 
in nearly all the speeches. The first question of the rulers is, " By 



240 REMARKS ON THE MIRACLES 

what power, or by what name, have ye done this?" which is no 
more than a convenient introduction to Peter's oration concerning 
the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This conclusion, 
" There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby 
we must be saved," betrays rather the enlarged notions concerning 
Christ's dominion belonging to a companion of Paul, writing long 
after the admission of the Gentiles, than to Peter at such an early 
period, when he had as yet no idea that the Gentiles were to re- 
ceive the word of God. The same thing appears more plainly in 
the former speech attributed to Peter, " Unto you first (i. e. the 
Jews), God having raised up his son Jesus, hath sent him to bless 
you," &c. Luke here evidently forgets that he had not yet ar- 
rived at that part of his history, where Peter, to the astonishment 
of himself and of those with him (Acts x. 34, 45), first found that 
others besides the Jews were to receive the word of God. 

Since Luke thus appears to embellish so freely in his account 
of the speeches,* it is unavoidable to infer that he does so, in some 
degree, in that of the facts ; especially as they were, in this case, 
such as he had probably not witnessed himself 
Ananias The story of Ananias and Sapphira may be accounted 

and for, in great part, by the effect which spiritual terrors 

Sapphira. have been known to have upon persons both religious 
and weak-minded. The same ardour of faith, arising from the 
expectation of the coming of the Lord, which led the early church 
to acknowledge the necessity of giving up all temporal possessions, 
would render snch terrors amongst them peculiarly strong ; and 
upon minds which had undergone a struggle between conscience 
and the natural love of property, and remaining oppressed with 
the consciousness of duplicity, we can imagine that the menaces of 
the apostle must have fallen with tremendous effect. This, how- 
ever, would hardly explain the death and burial of both parties 
within a few hours of Peter's speech ; but here there may be an 
exaggeration similar to that in the case of Herod. Their death, 
happen when it might, would be supposed by the believers to be in 
punishment of their fraud upon the church, and the story would 
soon be told in such a way as to make the connexion clear. Simply 



* In these speeches, Acts iii. iv., occur many of the most forcible testi- 
monies to the resurrection of Jesus. The above criticism confirms the view 
that these are to be considered rather as the testimonies of Luke, than of 
Peter himself. 



IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 241 

in the natural progress of tradition, the most interesting points 
tend to approach each other without reference to date. The at- 
tempt to obtain the merit and privileges attached to an unqualified 
surrender of property, without honestly performing the condition, 
was such a dangerous example to a society living in common, that 
Ananias and Sapphira would appear fully to deserve their heavy 
doom, and the narrator would feel interested in depicting it in the 
most fearful colours. 

The release of the apostles from the common prison Eelease 

bears the appearance of fiction, from its being a per- from P rison * 
fectly useless miracle. It cannot be imagined that an angel, on 
releasing the apostles, would have the simplicity to send them 
to the temple, where they were so likely to be taken again, as we 
are told they were the next morning. The effect of the miracle 
is, that the apostles are not found where they had been left, but in 
another place. It is unworthy of the divine power to suppose that 
it would choose to display itself by such a mere hide-and-seek 
affair. 

A more complete story of the same kind is told of Peter alone, 
Acts xii. James, the brother of John, having been put to death, 
Peter is imprisoned also ; but an angel appears to him in prison, 
his chains fall off, an iron gate opens of its own accord, Peter 
rejoins the disciples, the keepers next morning are put to death, 
and shortly after Herod dies, apparently from the connexion, in 
consequence of his attempt. But the disposition to do honour to 
the apostles might have suggested this story as well as the former. 
With the exception of the escape of the child from Herod, and of 
Christ's passing through the crowd on the brow of the hill, it is 
the only instance in the New Testament of deliverance from ene- 
mies by miraculous means ; and it seems the more improbable, 
as Jesus is never represented as expecting such deliverance for 
himself or his disciples ; but, on the contrary, as warning them 
frequently that he and they must be delivered into the hands of 
men. Wisdom and harmlessness were to be their means of escape 
from the midst of wolves, and not a miraculous opening of prison- 
gates, Matt. x. 16. The emphatic tone of the warnings attributed 
to Jesus on this point, x. 17, 18 ; xxiv. 9, indicates strongly that 
the general experience of the church had recognised that their 
supposed miraculous powers were of no avail against superior 
human force. The fates of Stephen and James had furnished 
melancholy proofs of this. The story of Peter affords perhaps a 
Q 



242 



REMARKS ON THE MIRACLES 



confirmation rather than contradiction, since the angel is repre- 
sented as coming secretly, and avoiding all collision with the 
authorities. Thus the story has the appearance of being the in- 
vention of some injudicious partizan, who in his desire to exhibit 
the triumphs of the church, forgot for a moment that they con- 
sisted really in the conquest of the minds and sympathies of men, 
rather than in miraculous escapes or physical invulnerability. 

Conversion ^he important miracle of Paul's conversion is related 
of Paul. thus : 

Acts ix. 3 — 19, "And as he journeyed, lie came near Damascus, and 
suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven : and he fell 
to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest 
thou me ? And he said, Who art thou, Lord ? And the Lord said, I am 
Jesus whom thou persecutest : it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? 
And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told 
thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood 
speechless, hearing a voice, hut seeing no man. And Saul arose from the 
earth ; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man : but they led him 
by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days 
without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And there was a certain dis- 
ciple at Damascus, named Ananias ; and to him said the Lord in a vision, 
Ananias ; and he said, Behold I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto 
him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in 
the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus ; for behold he prayeth, 
and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his 
hand on him that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, 
Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to 
thy saints at Jerusalem : and here he hath authority from the chief priests 
to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way ; 
for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and 
kings, and the children of Israel : for I will shew him how great things he 
must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered 
into the house ; and, putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, 
even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou earnest, hath sent 
me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. 
And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales ; and he 
received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had 
received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the 
disciples which were at Damascus." 

The important point, that the men with Paul heard the voice, 
is contradicted in the speech attributed to Paul, Acts xxii. 9, for 
there he only says that they saw the light ; "And they that were 
with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid ; but they heard not 



IK THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 243 

the voice of hini that spoke to me."* In this place, as well as the 
above, Paul is told to go into Damascus, where he will be told 
what to do, and Ananias there gives him his apostolic commission ; 
but in the speech before Agrippa, xxvii., Jesus gives him this com- 
mission at once from the sky. The story is told thus in the latter 
place, no doubt to avoid a repetition of the minute. details ; yet, 
strictly, the facts thus become at variance with the foregoing 
accounts, which shows at least carelessness in the manner of 
narrating. These inaccuracies of Luke, in his own repetitions of 
his story, lead us to suspect that there may be some inaccuracies in 
his first story itself, and that he has represented as real what Paul 
himself only intended to relate as a vision, adding a few particulars 
which he found necessary to make the account complete. The 
recovery of Paul's sight, ver. 17, 18, might be related almost in 
the same words if understood of spiritual blindness. The light 
from heaven, and the remonstrance of Jesus, also require but little 
alteration to restore them to a merely spiritual sense. But as 
Luke was not with Paul at the time, the chief merit of his version 
of the affair may belong to Barnabas, who appears to have been 
the first who related the story, ix. 27, and that on an occasion when 
he had a sufficient motive to lead him to strain the real facts into 
an evident miraculous interposition, viz. his desire to prove to the 
church at Jerusalem that his friend Paul had been duly commis- 
sioned by Jesus himself, and might therefore properly be introduced 
by him as a fellow-labourer with the other apostles. The testimony 
of Barnabas was readily received concerning a matter so honour- 
able to the church, and probably received some additions afterwards 
from Paul's other adherents, who were naturally anxious to meet 
the objection that their leader had not seen Jesus. And from one 
of these we have the present story. 

The change in Paul's mind seems not unnatural. His first 
indignation against the innovating sect was appeased by the death 
of Stephen, and the subsequent persecution. On the road to 
Damascus he had leisure to reconsider their claims calmly. As a 
Jew, he himself expected the Messiah ; and as a Pharisee, he 
believed the resurrection of the dead. Why, then, might it not 
be true that Jesus of Nazareth had been proved to be the Messiah 
by his resurrection from the dead ? The disciples quoted many 



* Luke ha? other instances of carelessness or forgetfulness with respect 
to his own narratives ; e. g. the 40 days after the resurrection, and the 
instance noticed, page 240. In this he differs from the fourth evangelist, 
who shows evident effort to confirm himself. 



244 REMARKS ON THE MIRACLES 

prophecies as fulfilled by Jesus, aud lie himself might remember 
others apparently accomplished by him. The idea once admitted, 
agitated him incessantly during the journey ; he must decide for 
or against Jesus before reaching Damascus ; and during a faintness 
occasioned by the heat of the sun at noonday, he thought he saw 
and heard Jesus himself appealing to him. Upon a man of strong 
imagination, and much given to visions, 2 Cor. xii. 1, it is not 
surprising that the impression made in such circumstances should 
be so strong as to influence his whole life. His energy of character 
permitted him to do nothing imperfectly. During the three years 
spent at Damascus and in Arabia, from the materials afforded by 
the Jewish prophets, and by his own meditations and visions, he 
formed an improved system of Christianity ; and, not contented 
merely to follow in the footsteps of the first disciples, he determined 
to proceed as a new and special apostle of the Christ or Messiah, 
to the conversion of the whole world. 

The speeches in the Acts cannot be relied on as Paul's own 
words ; for these we must look to his Epistles, and the following 
are the only passages which they contain, seeming to allude to the 
event near Damascus : 

Gal. i. 15 — 17, " But when it pleased God, who separated me from my 
mother's womb, and called me by his grace to reveal his Son in me, that I 
might preach him among the heathen ; immediately I conferred not with 
flesh and blood : neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apos- 
tles before me ; but I went into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus." 

1 Cor. ix. 1, " Am I not an apostle ? am I not free ? have I not seen Jesus 
Christ our Lord ? Are not you my work in the Lord 1 " 

1 Cor. xv. 8, " And last of all, he (Christ) was seen of me also, as of one 
born out of due time." 

None of which bear out Luke's statement ; for the appearance 
of Jesus, on which Paul founds his claim to the apostleship, might 
be a vision, as there is reason to suppose it was in the case of 
James. See chap. vii. 

The earthquake in the prison at Philippi has several 
Ea p^ Mte marks of fiction. The keeper prepares to kill himself, 
PP 1 - De f ore be knows whether the prisoners are fled or not. 
Paul guesses, in the dark, what the keeper is doing, and calls out 
in time to save him. This heathen keeper having obtained a light, 
addresses Paul and Silas with the very Christian phrase, " What 
must I do to be saved ?" Moreover, the two prisoners' release is 



IN THE ACTS OP THE APOSTLES. 245 

attributed, not to the earthquake, but to the order of the magis- 
trates the next morning. In Paul's Epistle to the Philippians no 
allusion is made to this miracle. 



However trifling this kind of criticism may appear, the question of 
the miraculous origin of the Christian religion depends mainly upon 
it. Let it be granted that this doctrine ought not to be rejected 
at once on general arguments respecting the nature of miracles, but 
that the evidence for it deserves examination. If, after taking the 
pains to examine, each one of the miraculous incidents appears re- 
resolvable, and most probably so, into a pious fiction, a full-grown 
tradition, or a poetical legend, few metaphysical arguments can be 
found strong enough to restore plausibility to the doctrine. 

But in studying the book of Acts, it is impossible not to see 
things which contributed much more effectually than any miracles 
or tales of miracles to the growth of religion. The active mis- 
sionary historian transports us by his earnest narrative into the 
midst of the infant sect. We see the inward workings, the intense 
animation, the joyful stragglings, of one of those societies, which 
from time to time, by launching forth some new principles, or new 
forms of old principles, enliven mankind. The powers of the mind 
in addition to, and superior to those which suffice for the common 
current of human affairs, which in isolated individuals find a vent 
in comparatively inefficient musings or aspirations, when at last 
awakened simultaneously in bodies of men, impel into action with 
a force which no established forms, laws, or usages, can ultimately 
resist. If there be in the exciting ideas a preponderance of truth, 
or of what harmonizes with the more generous emotions, a society 
small in its beginning, and low in its station, possesses a tremen- 
dous power ; and the Pharisees and Sadducees of the day are soon 
compelled to adopt the advice of some wiser Gamaliel, to let these 
men alone. The lower classes probably more than the higher, are 
the fit agents for effecting these moral revolutions, from their 
being less enslaved by artificial habits of action and thought. In 
the early church we recognize much that awakens enthusiasm in all 
ages ; the mental enligbtenment once the heritage of a few, is to 
be common to all ; the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which aforetime 
were shed only on special prophets, are now poured abundantly 
on all flesh, and all the sons and daughters of the spiritual Israel 
may hope to share in some degree the inspiration of David and 



246 REMARKS ON THE MIRACLES. 

Isaiah. The expectations of former times are ahout to be fulfilled. 
A state of brotherhood is to prevent individual want. The farthest 
isles of the Gentiles are to share in the new light. And all im- 
perfections of existing institutions are to be remedied by an ap- 
proaching restitution of all things, a Messiah's kingdom which 
popularizes the chief objects of desire, and acknowledges as the 
truly opulent those who are rich in faith and good works. The 
Hebrew recollections with which all this was clothed increased the 
force of the ideas to the church. The supernatural tales and visions 
with which their progress was embellished, might serve as acces- 
sory stimulants ; but with or without them we can see enough to 
explain how numbers might be led to join those whom they had at 
first persecuted, and to count all things loss for the sake of the 
cause which was called that of Christ. 



CHAPTER XL 

ON THE EVIDENCE AFFOEDED TO THE MIRACLES BY THE 
APOSTOLIC WRITINGS. 

Paley admits (Evid., part iii. ch. v.), that the apostles appealed 
less frequently than he himself should have done to the miracles, 
and he attributes this to the want of a due appreciation of miracles 
in that age, owing to the general belief in magical agency. But 
the excuse is insufficient. The church of Rome, whilst denouncing 
practisers of witchcraft, has been eager enough to set forth its own 
miracles. The Jews who believed in the magical acts of Pharaoh's 
magicians, were not the less forward to celebrate the miracles of 
Moses ; and the disciples, if not admitting the absolute conclu- 
siveness of a miracle as a divine credential, were yet well aware of 
its great value. For they admit that the Jews frequently required 
a sign, and the fourth Evangelist makes Jesus say, " Unless ye 
see wonders and signs, ye will not believe." 

The four Gospels and the Acts were written at a comparatively 
late period, viz. forty years and upwards after the death of Christ, 
or a distance of time varying from ten to forty years after the 
events recorded. But most of the Epistles were written earlier, 
whilst the apostles were administering the affairs of the church, 
and consequently in the midst of the miraculous period. More- 
over, in these writings, at least in the Epistles of Paul, John, 
James, and the first of Peter, we may fairly calculate upon having 
very nearly these apostles' own words. Let us collect all the pas- 
sages in these Epistles which seem to allude to the miracles of 
Jesus or of his disciples. 

Rom. xv. 17 — 19 : " I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus 
Christ, in those things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak 
of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the 
Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders by 
the power of the spirit of God." 

1 Cor. ii. 4 : "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing 
words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power. - ' 



248 ON THE EVIDENCE AFFORDED TO THE 

1 Cor. xii. 8 — 10 : " For to one is given, by the spirit, the word of wisdom ; 
to another, the word of knowledge, by the same spirit ; to another faith, by 
the same spirit ; to another, the gifts of healing, by the same spirit ; to 
another, the working of miracles ; to another, prophecy ; to another, dis- 
cerning of spirits ; to another, divers kind of tongues ; to another, the 
interpretation of tongues." 

Ver. 28 : " And God hath set some in the church ; first, apostles ; second- 
arily, prophets ; thirdly, teachers ; after that, miracles ; then, gifts of heal- 
ings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." 

2 Cor. xii. 12 : " Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you 
in all patience, in signs and wonders, and mighty deeds." 

Gal. iii. 5 : " He, therefore, that ministereth the spirit, and worketh mira- 
cles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of 
faith ?" 

There are no allusions to miracles in the Epistles of James, 
John, Jude, or the first of Peter. In the second, or doubtful* 
Epistle of Peter, there is an allusion to the prophecy of Peter's 
death, and to the transfiguration. But the word of prophecy is 
said to be "more sure." 

The above passages in Paul's Epistles show that the church, in 
general, valued miracles as divine credentials, but they are insuffi- 
cient to prove that any had been really wrought ; for — 

1. Not one instance of a miracle is cited; which is extraordinary 
in such a large collection of letters to the communities amongst 
whom they were supposed to have been frequent ; the subject of 
miracles being occasionally introduced, and Paul being in the habit 
of frequently appealing to facts within their own knowledge. For 
instance, he reminds Timothy of the afflictions he met with at 
Lystra, but never alludes to the healing of the lame man there. 
The ill health of Trophimus is mentioned, and also that of Timothy, 
but none of the miraculous cures at Ephesus or Melita. Although 
Epaphroditus was "sick nigh unto death," 2 Phil. ii. 27, Paul 
seems never to have thought of healing him by miraculous means, 
but uses language applying to a natural recovery. "The Lord 
had mercy on him." Some of these sicknesses of most faithful 
companions might have been expected at least to call forth some 
expressions of regret at the absence of the usual miraculous power, 



* The testimony of Eusebius seems almost enough to stamp this Epistle 
as spurious, since it appears incredible that the early church should have 
hesitated to receive any real writings of the chief apostle. Nevertheless, 
it may be appealed to as assisting to show the opinions of the early 
Christian?. 



MIRACLES BY THE APOSTOLIC WRITINGS. 249 

if Paul had really experienced it to be such. He cites his escape 
from Damascus in a basket, 2 Cor. xi. 33, thus confirming Acts 
ix. 24; but never alludes to any miraculous escape of himself, or 
of the other apostles. All this certainly amounts only to absence 
of a particular kind of proof ; but it is that important kind, viz. 
incidental allusion and confirmation, which in Paley's Horse 
Paulinas is so ably shown to support a great portion of the apos- 
tolic history. 

2. The low rank in which Paul places miracles appears incon- 
sistent with the supposition that those of which he speaks were 
real and indisputable ones. A manifest suspension of the laws of 
nature must be one of the most impressive events that could hap- 
pen to men of any age or country ; and persons commissioned to 
command or declare such suspensions from time to time could 
hardly fail to be regarded, in any society, with the highest degree 
of reverence ever paid to men ; yet Paul speaks of the Corinthian 
miracle-workers in this depreciating manner, — "thirdly, teachers ; 
after that, miracles," &c. The only explanation seems to be, that 
he knew that the performances in question were far from being 
clear miracles, and would not bear to have much stress laid upon 
them. Hence, although he himself did not wholly reject the pre- 
tensions in question, and was willing that they should contribute 
as far as they might to the service of the church, he urges the 
Corinthians to seek after gifts, which he was conscious might be 
claimed with less danger of discredit. 

3. It appears that Paul's claims to the apostleship were resisted 
by a party strong both in numbers and influence, although, ac- 
cording to his own account, he had wrought all the signs of an 
apostle, including wonders and mighty deeds. Yet in 2 Cor. xi. 
xii., where he asserts his claim to be considered one of the chiefest 
apostles most forcibly, he makes very little use of his miracles ; 
and when speaking even of his adventures at Damascus, does not 
mention the miracle of his conversion, which would have supplied 
a most pertinent argument. He urges his descent from Abraham, 
his labours in the church, his sufferings, his visions, his working 
the signs of an apostle in all patience, " in signs, wonders, and 
mighty deeds," in supporting his claim ; but to that remarkable 
event, which his followers in the church afterwards considered to 
be the best foundation of his apostleship, the appearance of Jesus 
to him from the heavens, he himself, when he seems to have most 
need of it, makes no appeal. Moreover, the citation of the signs 



250 ON THE EVIDENCE AFFORDED TO THE 

of an apostle wrought by him is added when he has nearly concluded 
the subject, and apparently as a subsidiary argument. 

Upon the whole, the notices of the miracles found in the apos- 
tolic writings are too scanty to agree with the reality of such 
numerous and striking miracles as are recorded in the Gospels and 
the Acts. Such miracles, whilst yet in the eyes and ears of men, 
must have formed a constant topic of discourse ; and, although 
much of the Epistles is argumentative and hortatory, we should 
have expected that some allusions to the miraculous as well as to 
the ordinary occurrences within the knowledge of the persons ad- 
dressed, would have found their way into them. 



The lower classes in every age and country, owing to their less 
acquaintance with physical science, are disposed to see special in- 
terventions in ordinary events, and receive miraculous tales readily ; 
but about the time of Christ, even grave historians, both Greek 
and Eoman, admitted such tales into their most finished composi- 
tions. Amongst the Jews, especially, the national temper, creed, 
and low degree of scientific attainments, promoted the taste for the 
miraculous ; consequently, their accomplished historian Josephus, 
although obviously checked by his fear of the Eoman philosophical 
world, and without any other apparent motive than a pure love of 
the marvellous, could not resist the temptation of introducing 
abundance of miraculous stories. The historians of the early re- 
formed Jewish, or Christian, churches, were inferior to Josephus 
in education and literary attainments, wrote under stronger excite- 
ment, had in view the interest and honour of their own newly-risen 
sect, and apparently intended their works for the use of their bre- 
thren, who were influenced by the same feelings and opinions as 
themselves. It was to be expected, then, that these histories should 
contain a larger proportion of the miraculous than that of Josephus. 
And as it would be thought very harsh to condemn Josephus as 
totally unworthy of credit, and to throw aside his history because 
he partook somewhat of a vice peculiar to his age and country, so 
may we also look indulgently upon the inaccuracy or credulity of 
the evangelic historians, — venerate their compositions as the 
chief remaining records of the rise of that pure and intrepid sect 
which has revolutionized the moral world, — admire the highly- 
wrought feelings and imagination which could enliven Patmos with 



MIRACLES BY THE APOSTOLIC WRITINGS. 251 

a glimpse of the kingdom eternal in the heavens, refreshing the 
common-places of the world with visions unspeakable, and with 
angels ascending and descending amongst the sons of men, — and 
respect even their recognized fictions as being, not attempts at 
gross fraud and imposture, but the aberrations of zeal for an 
honourable cause, or as exhibiting that tinge of romance which 
times and events of interest almost unparalleled in history had dis- 
posed the minds of men to infuse into the realities of life. 

To traverse the evangelic writings, exposing their weak points, 
and throwing down successively, with the apathy of mere criticism, 
fictions consecrated by the authority of ages, is a harsh and ungra- 
cious task ; and it is only a belief in the expediency of reducing 
such tales to their due estimation in the opinion of mankind, that 
can induce minds accustomed to venerate them to enter willingly 
upon the destructive process. The cause of progressive mental 
improvement may at length require that such narrations should be 
placed amongst the things of romance rather than of history : but 
this being done, the imagination may still delight itself by con- 
templating them in what now appears to be their true and proper 
light ; and the more freely, from its being now unchecked by the 
necessity of explaining and reconciling those absurdities and incon- 
sistencies which must belong to them when viewed as matters of 
fact. Many of the finer thoughts and feelings of mankind find a 
vent in fiction, expressed either by painting, poetry, or the poetic 
tale ; and the perception of historical inaccuracy does not prevent 
our sharing the thoughts and feelings which have embodied them- 
selves in this manner. The monotheist of the present day feels 
awakened in himself the conceptions of the beautiful belonging to 
ancient Greece, when viewing the varied and graceful forms of the 
council of Olympus : the Protestant, who regards monachism as a 
social evil, and who sees amongst the fathers of the church men of 
character and claims worse than doubtful, may yet appreciate the 
feeling which led men to tread in cloistered cells as on holy ground, 
and to attribute supernatural influence to the relics and images of 
martyrs and saints : and the critical inquirer, who sees in the 
mother of Jesus merely the obscure Jewish matron, may yet com- 
prehend the mixture of devotion and chivalry which gradually 
raised homage into adoration, and depicted her with the placid and 
majestic features of the Virgin Mother of God. In like manner, 
whilst recognizing the true character of the evangelic fables, we 
may still discover in them and share the feelings from which, for 
the most part, they sprung, — respect and attachment towards a 



252 ON THE EVIDENCE AFFORDED, ETC. 

character of unwonted power and excellence. A rude age ex- 
pressed its perception of moral ascendancy by decking it with those 
ornaments which were then considered to be its appropriate and 
deserved accompaniments, — miracles, wonders, and signs ; the fol- 
lowers of the Eeformer of Galilee endeavoured to express their 
own sentiments towards him, and to excite the same in others, by 
attributing to him the command over nature, and by representing 
him as ascending to the right hand of God. The modern observer 
has learned to distinguish more correctly the boundaries of the 
moral and physical worlds, and can appreciate superiority in the 
one, without ascribing to it an extraordinary control over the other. 
Nevertheless, he may be able to understand, feel, and translate the 
rude but emphatic language of former ages ; and, in the delinea- 
tions of Jesus healing the sick, stilling the tempest, walking on 
the sea, or transfigured on the mount, may contemplate a fact of 
no small interest or importance, viz. the deep and solemn reverence 
which mental and moral power, unassisted by grosser means of in- 
fluence, had been able in a remote age and country to inspire, 
and may thus refine the false glare of the miraculous thrown 
around Jesus into a more serene and steady light. 



CHAPTER XII. 

ON THE PKOPHECIES. 

Some of the incidents in the life of Jesus appeared to agree with 
detached sentences in different parts of the Jewish Scriptures. 
This confirmed the belief of his disciples, that he was, as he claimed 
to be, the Messiah whom those Scriptures foretold. And returning 
to them with this prepossession, they were able, by straining the 
facts a little on one side, and the meaning of their Scriptures on 
the other, to find in almost every page some fresh coincidences. 
A new and intense interest was thus imparted to the revered but 
familiarized writings ; words and sentences, fallen through the 
lapse of time into dry forms, were vivified by the discovery of a 
mysterious connexion with present things ; coincidences the most 
doubtful were magnified into fulfilled prophecies ; and imagination 
found abundance of connexions which common sense alone would 
never have discovered. 

From the confidence and frequency with which the apostles 
directed inquirers to search the Scriptures for the evidence of the 
Messiahship of Jesus, it seems clear that they relied upon the ful- 
filment of prophecy as their strongest argument.* 

Luke xxiv. 25 — 27 : " Then he said unto them, fools, and slow of heart, 
to believe all that the prophets have spoken ! Ought not Christ to have 
suffered these things, and to enter into his glory ? And beginning at Moses 
and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scripture the things 
concerning himself."' 



* The comparative infrequency of the appeals to miracles proves that 
they were less relied on. This neglect of the miracles is the more remark- 
able, since it is evident that the apostles needed all the arguments they 
could find, many of the Jews themselves resisting the evidence of prophecy, 
Acts siii. 45 ; xix. 9 ; xxviii. 24. A tacit, although unintentional, slight 
seems to be cast upon the evidence from miracle by Irenasus, when he says 
that he who laboured amongst the Gentiles had a harder task, because they 
had not the Scriptures, and that the faith of the Gentiles was more < 
See note, page 69. 



254 ON THE PROPHECIES. 

John v. 39 : " Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal 
life, and they are they which testify of me." 

Acts iii. 18 : " But those things which God before had revealed by the 
mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should surfer, he hath so fulfilled." 

xvii. 2, 3 : " And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, (the Jews 
of Thessalonica,) and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the 
Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and 
risen again from the dead : and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is 
Christ." 

Ver. 11 : " These (the Jews of Berea) were more noble than those of 
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and 
searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." 

See also Acts ii. 16 ; iii. 22—24 ; vii. 52 ; viii. 35 ; x. 43 ; xiii. 27, 32, 33 ; 
xviii. 28 ; xxvi. 22, 27 ; xxviii. 23 ; Luke xxiv. 44, 45 ; John v. 46, 47 ; 
1 Cor. xv. 3, 4, &c. 

These arguments of the apostles were addressed chiefly to Jews. 
But since we are able to read the Jewish Scriptures as well as the 
Jews of that time, we can put ourselves into the same position for 
feeling and appreciating the force of an argument on which the 
apostles laid so much stress. Let us, then, for a time imagine 
ourselves in the place of the Jews of Berea, and follow the apostle's 
urgent exhortation to search the Old Testament whether these 
things were so, i. e. whether Jesus of Nazareth was he of whom 
Moses and the prophets wrote. 

Let us first examine all the passages which the apostles and 
evangelists themselves have quoted. 

Matt. i. 23 : " Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was 
spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold a virgin shall be with 
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, 
which being interpreted is, God with us." 

Isaiah vii. 14 : " Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a 
sign ; Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call 
his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may 
know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child 
shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land 
that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings." From 
ch. viii. 3, 4, it is plain that the writer is speaking of his own 
child. 

Matt. ii. 6 : " And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least 
among the princes of Juda ; for out of thee shall come a governor that shall 
rule my people Israel." * 



See note J, page 86. 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 255 

Micah v. 2 : " But thon, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be 
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come 
forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth 
have been (or are) from of old, from everlasting." In verse 6, this 
personage " shall relieve us from the Assyrian ; " and in other re- 
spects the description does not agree with Jesus, who never ruled 
Israel. 

Matt. ii. 15 : "And he was there until the death of Herod : that it might 
be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, " Out of 
Egypt have I called my son." 

Hosea xi. 1 : " When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and 
called my son out of Egypt."* 

Matt. ii. 17 : " Then (on the slaughter of the infants) was fulfilled that 
which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Kama was there a voice 
heard, lamentation and weeping, and great mourning ; Rachel weeping for 
her children." 

Jerem. xxxi. 15 : " Thus saith the Lord, A voice was heard in 
Baruah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Bachel weeping for her 
children, refused to be comforted for her children because they 
were not. Thus saith the Lord, Befrain thy voice from weeping, 
and thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, saith 
the Lord, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy." 
The writer speaks of the return of the Jews from captivity, during 
which, the land of Israel, represented under the name of Bachel 
their ancestress, wept for the loss of her children, the Jews. 



* The manifest absurdity of supposing that these texts could have any 
reference to Jesus has led to the opinion that Matthew only intended to 
quote them by way of illustration or accommodation. But this was very 
different from what the church usually meant by saying that the Scriptures 
were fulfilled; and there is every appearance that the phrase "then was 
fulfilled,'' in Matthew, was intended to have the same kind of meaning as 
that which Peter and Paul gave to their quotations when they argued from 
the fulfilment of prophecy. It does, indeed, seem impossible that any one 
who examined the context could seriously intend to represent these passages 
as prophecies fulfilled by Jesus ; but the probability is that Matthew never 
thought of this kind of critical inquiry. His incorrectness of quotation 
seems to show that he did not even take the trouble to refer to the passages 
in question, but quoted them from memory. The Jews had given him the 
example of applying the Scriptures to the Messiah, in defiance of common 
sense ; and there is some evidence that they had so applied Hos. xi. 1. 



256 ON THE PROPHECIES. 

Matt. ii. 23 : "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it 
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the prophets, He shall be called a 
Nazarene." 

This is not to be found in the Old Testament. The passage 
most resembling it is Judges xiii. 7, " For the child shall be a 
Nazarite to God," spoken of Samson.* 

Matt. iii. 2 : " For this (John the Baptist) is he that was spoken of by 
the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Pre- 
pare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." 

Isaiah xl. 3 : This verse is part of a joyful exhortation to the 
Jews on their return from captivity. The protection of their God 
then became evident, and they are therefore told " to behold their 
God." 

Matt. iv. 13 : "And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, 
which is upon the sea coast in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim ; that 
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The 
land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond 
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles ; the people which sat in darkness saw great 
light ; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is 
sprung up." 

Isaiah ix. 1 : " Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as 
was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land 
of Zebulon, and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more 
grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in 
Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have 
seen a great light : they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of 
death, upon them bath the light shined."f 

The passage seems to be part of a description of the times of 
Josiah. Compare Is. viii. 19 to ix. 7, with 2 Kings xxiii. 24, 25. 
Josiah extirpated the familiar spirits, wizards, and idols, " and 
like unto him was there no king before him that turned to the 
Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his 
might, according to all the law of Moses ; neither after him arose 



* See note *, page 87. 

f Grotius supposes the light affliction to be the transportation of the 
inhabitants of Naphtali, Galilee, Ijon, and several other cities, by Tiglath- 
pileser, 2 Kings xv. 29 ; the more grievous affliction to be the captivity of 
Israel under Salmaneser, 2 Kings xvii. and xviii. ; and the child to be 
Hezekiah. 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 257' 

there any like him." The passage in Isaiah urges the people to 
leave the wizards and familiar spirits, and to seek the law and testi- 
mony : it tells them that a great light hath shined upon them as 
they walk in darkness ; that unto them a child is born, and the 
government shall be upon his shoulder, (Josiah was only eight 
years old when he began to reign,) that " his name shall be called 
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,* &c, and that of the in- 
crease of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon 
the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to es- 
tablish it with judgment and with justice." The excess of pane- 
gyric affords ground for conjecturing that the passage was written 
in the time of Josiah. It will be shown that the book of Isaiah 
contains, probably, many fragments written at different times. 

Matt. viii. 16, 17: "And healed all that were sick : that it might be ful- 
filled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our 
infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." 

Isaiah liii. 4: "Surely, he hath borne our griefs, and carried 
our sorrows : yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, 
and afflicted." Whoever be the personage intended, it is plain 
that Matthew has not only quoted incorrectly, but given quite a 
different sense to that of the writer of Isaiah ; for the latter speaks 
of the sorrows undergone by the person himself, — Matthew, of the 
infirmities and sicknesses which Jesus removed from others. 

Matt. xii. 18 : " Behold my servant, whom I have chosen ; my beloved, in 
whom my soul is well pleased : I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall 
shew judgment to the Gentiles," &c. 

Isaiah xlii. 1 : This is a description of Israel or Jacob under the 
name of the Lord's servant. See chap. xli. 8; xlii. 19, 25; 
xliii. 1. 

Matt. xiii. 14 : "And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which 
saith, by hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand ; and seeing ye 
shall see, and shall not perceive," &c. 

Isaiah vi. 9 : The writer is here describing the inattention of 
the people to their prophets, from the death of Uzziah to the cap- 
tivity. Ver. 1—11. 

* The word God, perhaps, formed only one syllable of the name in 
Hebrew, as in Immanuel, or God with us. Grotius conjectures that instead 
of " counsellor, the mighty God," we should read " a consulter of the 
mighty God." This would agree with either Hezekiah or Josiah, who both 
turned to the Lord with all their heart. 



258 ON THE PROPHECIES. 

Matt. xv. 7 : "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophecy of yon, saying, 
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with 
their lips : but their heart is far from me." 

Isaiah xxix. 13 : This description was intended to apply to the 
writer's own time, because in the continuation, chap, xxx., the 
people are reproved for seeking assistance from Egypt. 

Matt. xxi. 4 : "All this (the entry into Jerusalem) was done, that it 
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, "Tell ye the 
daughter of Zion, Behold thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting 
upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass." 

Zech. ix. 9 : " Kejoice greatly, daughter of Zion ; shout, 
daughter of Jerusalem ; behold thy king cometh unto thee : he is 
just, and having salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and 
upon a colt the foal of an ass." Compare this with the following 
passages of Zeehariah, ch. iii. 8, 9 : " Hear now, Joshua the 
high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee : for they 
are men wondered at : for behold, I will bring forth my servant 
the branch. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua ; 
upon one stone shall be seven eyes ; behold I will engrave the 
graving thereof, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will remove the 
iniquity of that land in one day." ix. 6 — 10 : " Then he answered 
and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto 
Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, 
saith the Lord of Hosts. Who art thou, great mountain ? 
before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain ; and he shall bring 
forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace, 
unto it. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 
The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house ; 
his hands shall also finish it ; and thou shalt know that the Lord 
of Hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day 
of small things ? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet 
in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven ; they are the eyes of 
the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth." vi. 11 
■ — 13 : " Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set 
them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest ; 
and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, 
saying, Behold the man whose name is the Branch ; and he shall 
grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the 
Lord : even he shall build the temple of the Lord ; and he shall 
bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne ; and he 
shall be a priest upon his throne : and the counsel of peace shall 
be between them both." 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 259 

It is clear that Zerubbabel is the person intended in all these 
passages. He was a " branch " of the house of David, 1 Chron. 
iii. 19, and might very naturally be considered by the returned 
Jews as their lawful king. One object of the book of Zechariah 
seems to be to advance his pretensions. But he could not assume 
the regal state under the Persian rule, and was obliged to limit 
himself in public to an humble and pacific demeanour ; therefore 
his friend and poet Zechariah asserts his claim to the homage of 
his countrymen, notwithstanding his apparently low estate. Ac- 
cording to Grotius (Annot. in Zech.), instead of "thy king 
cometh," the Hebrew might very well be read " thy king hath 
come;" and he is described as riding upon an ass instead of a 
horse, not only from modesty, but also for the sake of showing a 
pacific intention ; the ass being an animal of peace, and the horse 
of war. The title, "having salvation," or Saviour, (Sept. cwawv,) 
was given very commonly to national deliverers.* 

Matt. xxii. 43 : "He (Jesus) saith unto them, How then doth David in 
the spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on 
my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool ? " 

Psalm ex. : This Psalm seems to be a fragment of a compli- 
mentary address to some person, to whom it gives the common 
•Jewish title, My Lord. See 1 Kings xviii. 7, 13, and Judges vi. 
13. It speaks of his warlike greatness, but has nothing appli- 
cable to Jesus. "When the original occasion of it was forgotten, 
it was probably considered to have reference to the Messiah, for 
want of any other apparent meaning. It might have been an ode 
addressed by David to Saul. The last verse may be explained in 
this way: Saul was known to be jealous of the authority of the 
high priest, to which dignity he himself could have no claim, not 
being of the family of Aaron ; the writer therefore flatters him 
with the title of a priest after the order of Melchizedek, who was 
not a common priest, but also king of Salem. 

Matt. xxiv. 15, 16 : " When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation 
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, 
let him understand.) then let them which be in Judea flee into the 
mountains." 

Daniel ix. 27 : There are many clear allusions in Daniel to the ' 
profanation of the sanctuary by Antiochus. This most obscure part 
of the book most likely refers also to the same event. There is 

* See Judges iii. 9 ; 2 "Kings xiii. 5. 



260 ON THE PROPHECIES. 

nothing in the context to fix the meaning of the passage to the 
desolation under the Romans. See chap. xiv. on Daniel. 

Matt. xxvi. 31 : " Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended 
because of me this night ; for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and 
the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." 

Zech. xiii. 7 : " Awake, sword, against my shepherd, and 
against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts ; smite 
the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered ; and I will turn mine 
hand upon the little ones." The writer, probably Jeremiah,* begins 
here to describe the miseries of the captivity, which he closes with 
a promise of miraculous vengeance on the Jews' enemies. The 
king of Judah is frequently called a shepherd or pastor. See 
Zech. xi 3 — 5 ; Jer. xxv. 34. The words " man that is my fellow" 
are in the Septuagint tm avSpa 7ro\irr)v fiov, the man, my fellow 
citizen. The sword would not spare even the fellow citizen of 
God, i. e. the Jew who inhabited Jerusalem, God's own city. 

Matt. xxvi. 56 : " But all this was done (the apprehension of Jesus), that 
the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. " 

Dan. ix. 26 : " And after threescore and two weeks shall Mes- 
siah be cut off." See remark on Matt. xxiv. 15. 

In Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Psalms, there are abundant allu- 
sions to real or emblematic personages in distress ; but, as will be 
shown, in none of them can the meaning be fixed to the case of 
Jesus. 

Matt, xxvii. 9 : " Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the 
prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him 
that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value ; and gave 
them for the potters' field, as the Lord appointed me." 

Zech. xi. 12 — 13 : The writer seems to be describing the little 
regard paid by the children of Israel to the Lord, which was the 
reason of his breaking his covenant with them. There is nothing 
in the context to fix the meaning of these verses to the Messiah. 
The coincidence of the thirty pieces of silver and the potters' field 
would be, however, very remarkable, if there were not reason to 
suspect Matthew of having accommodated his narrative to this 
' verse ; for none of the other Evangelists mention thirty pieces of 

* That the last five chapters of Zechariah belong to Jeremiah is inferred, 
— lstly, from the similarity of style ; 2ndly, from the prophecy against 
Assyria, x. 11, which could not proceed from Zechariah, who lived under 
the Persian empire ; 3dly, from Matthew's quoting Zech. xi. 13, as part of 
Jeremiah. 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 261 

silver, or the potters' field. Mark, xiv. 11, and Luke, xxii. 5, 
merely say that Judas covenanted for money ; and in Acts i. 18, 
it is said that Judas, not the priests, bought " a field " with the 
money. 

Mark i. 2 : " As it is written in the prophets, Behoid, I send my messen- 
ger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee," &c. (applied 
to John the Baptist). 

Malachi, chap. iii. and iv., foretels the coming of a messenger 
of the Lord, and a day of vengeance on the wicked. This is one 
of those passages which produced the popular idea of a Messiah, 
and probably contributed to the undertaking of Jesus. But it 
does not correspond throughout with events in the time of Jesus, 
iii. 4 — 5 : " Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be 
pleasant unto the Lord, as in the clays of old, and as in former 
years, and I will come near to you to judgment." iv. 5 : " Behold 
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the 
great and dreadful day of the Lord." 

Mark xiv. 27 : "I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scat- 
tered." 

See remark on Matthew xxvi. 31. 

Mark xv. 28 : "And the Scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was 
numbered with the transgressors." 

Isaiah liii. 12 : " And he was numbered with the transgressors, 
and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the trans- 
gressors." This was spoken of Jacob or Israel. See chap. xiii. 

Luke i. 69 : " And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us, in the house 
of his servant David, as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which 
have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies, 
and from the hands of all that hate us." 

Luke ii. 32 : "A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of my people 
Israel." 

Isaiah xlii. 6 ; and xlix. 6 : In both places, Jacob or Israel 
seems to be intended. See chap. xiii. 

Luke iii. 4 : " As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the pro- 
phet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness," &c. 

See remark on Matthew iii. 2. 

Luke iv. 17, 18 : " He (Jesus) found the place where it was written, The 
spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the 
Gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach 
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind ; to set at 
liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 



262 ON THE PROPHECIES. 

Isaiah lxi. 1 : The writer seems to refer to himself. The time 
intended by him is plainly that of the return from captivity, from 
verse 4 ; " and they shall build the old wastes, and they shall raise 
up the former desolations." 

Luke vii. 27: "This (John the Baptist) is he of whom it is written, 
Behold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way 
before thee." 

The words are different in Malachi iii. 1, " Behold I will send a 
messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me" i. e. the Lord 
of Hosts. See remark on Mark i. 2. Both Mark and Luke seem 
to have considered the alteration of a few pronouns perfectly ad- 
missible, in order to accommodate the passage to Jesus.* 

Luke xxiv. 27 : " And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he ex- 
pounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." 

Luke xxiv. 44 : " And he said unto them, These are the words which I 
spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled 
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the 
Psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they 
might understand the Scriptures ; and said unto them, Thus it is written, 
and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.' ' 

Deut. xviii. 15 : " The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a 
Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ; 
unto him shall ye hearken." 

This might apply to any one who claimed the office of prophet 
after the time of Moses. The description suits Samuel rather than 
Jesus ; for the people are commanded to hearken to this prophet, 
instead of hearkening to diviners with familiar spirits and wizards. 

From 1 Sam. xxviii. 3 — 9, it appears that Saul, acting probably 
under the direction of Samuel, had put away those that had familiar 
spirits, and the wizards, out of the land, substituting for this hea- 
thenish mode of divination inquiries of the Lord by dreams, by 
Urim, and by prophets. 

It is generally allowed that there are many indications that the 
Pentateuch was first compiled by Samuel. It seems, then, in the 
highest degree probable that the above passage of Deuteronomy 
was the decree drawn up and published by Samuel for the expul- 
sion of the wizards, and the appointment of regular prophets like 
Moses, who were to form the legal and authorized medium of 
communication with the Lord, thus leaving no excuse for the 
irregular practices referred to. By the Prophet, therefore, Samuel 

* Lightfoot in Marc. i. 2, says, " Ista quse a Malachia citantur, non exacte 
congrua vel fonti Hebraso, vel versioni Grsecse." 

The Septuagint has " he shall prepare the way before my face." 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 263 

meant himself and his successors ; the name Prophet being hence- 
forward the proper designation, instead of the old title Seer. 
1 Sam. ix. 9. 

The parts of the Psalms and Prophets intended by Luke are 
probably those cited elsewhere. There is no passage in the Old 
Testament which seems at all to point out the Messiah's resurrec- 
tion on the third day.* Luke had in view, perhaps, the story of 
Jonah, which Matthew had already cited as the type of that event ; 
and possibly the following in Hosea vi. 1, 2 : " Come, and let us 
return unto the Lord : for he hath torn, and he will heal us ; he 
hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he 
revive us, in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in 
his sight." 

John i. 45 : " Philip fincleth Nathaniel, and saith unto him, We have found 
him of whom Moses in the law and the Prophets did write, Jesus of Naza- 
xeth, the son of Joseph." 

See the preceding remark. 

John vii. 41 : " Some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee ? Hath not 
the Scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the 
town of Bethlehem, where David was ? " 

The person from Bethlehem was to be a deliverer from the 
Assyrian (see note on Matt. ii. 6). John does not record the 
answer to the objection concerning the birth-place of Jesus, which 
Matthew and Luke had supplied, viz. that Jesus was born at 
Bethlehem ; nor does he ever allude to this, but calls him Jesus 
of Nazareth. Yet if he knew that Jesus was really born at 
Bethlehem, he could hardly have avoided mentioning it here. 

John xii. 37 : " But though he had done so many miracles, yet believed 
they not on him ; that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, 
which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report ? and to whom hath the 
arm of the Lord been revealed 1 Therefore they could not believe, because 
that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their 
heart ; that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their 
heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, 
when he saw his glory, and spake of him." 

* The Jews never expected that the Messiah was to rise from the dead, 
but that his posterity would reign after his death. " Messiam ex morte in 
vitam rediturum esse Judsei nunquam expectarunt. ' Morietur autem Mes- 
sias, regnabuntque post ipsum filius et nepotes. Moriturum enim ipse 
indiGat Deus (vaticinio Esaias xliii. 4). Non cahgabit, nee frangetur, donee 
ponat in terra judicium,' &c, inquit Maimonides in Diss. Commentario in 
Talmudis Tractat." — Rosenmilller Scholia in Esaiam. 



264 ON THE PROPHECIES. 

The first quotation is from Isaiah liii., which, it will be shown, 
applies to Jacob or Israel. The second is from Isaiah vi., which 
describes the obstinacy of the Jews previously to the captivity. 
The time referred to is clearly noted, viz. from the year of Uzziah's 
death " until the cities be wasted without inhabitant." By com- 
paring v. 11 — 13 with 2 Chron. xxxvi. 20, 21, it appears that the 
Babylonish captivity was the desolation referred to. The Evan- 
gelist's assertion, then, that Isaiah was speaking of Christ, proves 
his unscrupulousness in the use of the prophets, and probably his 
imperfect acquaintance with Jewish history. 

John xix. 24 : " They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend 
it (the coat), but cast lots for it, whose it shall be ; that the Scripture might 
be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my 
vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did." 

John xix. 28 : "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accom- 
plished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was 
set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put 
it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth." 

Psalm xxii. 16 : " For dogs have compassed me ; the assembly 
of the wicked have enclosed me : they pierced my hands and my 
feet." .... 18 : " They part my garments among them, and cast 
lots for my vesture." lxix. 21 : " They gave me also gall for my 
meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." 

These coincidences are remarkable ; and it is not surprising that 
to the disciples, searching the Scriptures expressly for prefigura- 
tions of Jesus, they should have appeared unquestionable prophe- 
cies. Yet, on a careful perusal of the whole two Psalms, it does 
not appear that the resemblances in question can be considered 
as more than mere coincidences. The two Psalms contain the 
complaints of a man under persecution. Some parts apply very 
well to Jeremiah : 

Compare Psalm xxii. 6, 7, with Jeremiah xx. 7. 
lxix. 8, id. xii. 6. 

id. 14, id. xxxviii. 6 — 9. 

The whole of the 69th Psalm is so much in the style of Jere- 
miah, and so applicable to his long imprisonment (Jer. xxxvii. 16), 
that it seems not improbable that it was a part of his writings, of 
which it has been seen that detached parts are dispersed under 
other titles in the Old Testament. Verses here and there apply 
very well to Jesus ; others do not : for instance, lxix. 5, " God, 
thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee." 
11, "I made sackcloth also my garment." 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 265 

There are various readings of the text, " they pierced my hands 
and my feet." Eosenmiiller gives a minute account of them, and 
concludes that the genuine reading was probably " they hound my 
hands and my feet," the Hebrew verb being one which might easily 
have been corrupted into the other readings.* Grotius admits 
this reading to be a probable one.f The Septuagint has, " they 
pierced;" but there were copies in Aquila's time which had a 
different word. Since none of the Evangelists have made use of 
this text as a prophecy, whilst, as it stands at present, the coinci- 
dence is more striking than in many others which they have cited, 
it seems likely, that, in their time, the copies generally known to 
the Jews, whether of the Septuagint or of the Hebrew, had not 
the present reading, " they pierced." 

That a man's enemies should plunder him even of his clothes, 
and cast lots for them, was not an unlikely thought to occur to a 
writer endeavouring to paint a scene of great distress ; and the 
thing itself was very likely to be done by the executioners of 
public criminals. Such a coincidence, therefore, by no means 
requires the supposition of a prophetic spirit in the author of the 
Psalm. The writer of the fourth Gospel evidently labours to 
relate the circumstances so as to be in perfect accordance with the 
quotation. 

With respect to the offering of drink, there is much dissimi- 
larity between the case contemplated by the Psalmist and that of 
Jesus. The Psalmist's enemies offer him vinegar (Sept. o?og, 
translated by Eosenmiiller, " omphacium," or the juice of unripe 
grapes), and gall,xoX»j (according to Michaelis,loliumtemulentum — 
Oedman, colocynth), both obviously in mockery, since the Psalmist 
complains of it. But the offering to Jesus, on the contrary, was 
meant as a relief. Pliny speaks of wines flavoured with myrrh, as 

* "Mini vero, omnibus diligenter ponderatis, verisimile est, genuinam 
fuisse P3 a verbo "^3 colligare. Certe ex bac lectione varietates reliquas 
omnes facillime derivari possunt." — Rosenm. Scbolia in Ps. xxii. 

f "Hicquoque duplex fait antiquitus lectio, quam utramque Chaldasus 
in versione sua conjunxit. Jacob ben Chaiim ait fuisse VI SO, foderunt, 
per tirtvQtaiv (insertionem) bterse J* : idem testatur Moses Hadarsan : in 
quibusdam exemplaribus sic fuisse agnoscunt Masoretse. LXX. wpv^av 
fodenmt ; quomodo ex eis citat Justinus et alii ; Aquila, -tpyvvav pudefe- 
cerunt. Nulla ergo bic fraus Cbristianorum ; inter quos est et interpres 
iEtbiops. Video quidem et Masoreticam lectionem posse defendi ; sed 
altera loco magis convenit, turn ob alia, turn quia leonis comparatio non 
multo ante posita est, v. 13." — Grotius Annot. 



266 ON THE PROPHEOIE8. 

having been frequently used.* The Jewish writers agree that their 
criminals were accustomed to receive wine mingled with frankin- 
cense,! °f which myrrh was an ingredient. And Mark says, that, 
immediately before the crucifixion, they offered to Jesus wine 
mingled with myrrh. If the vinegar offered afterwards were 
something different, it seems still to have been only what the 
Roman soldiers were accustomed to drink themselves. | Matthew 
alone speaks of vinegar mingled with gall ; but it has been seen 
that there is reason to suspect that he accommodated his descrip- 
tion purposely to the Psalm. 

John xix. 33 — 36 : " They brake not his legs For these things 

were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not 
be broken." 

Exodus xii. 46 : " In one house shall it (the lamb) be eaten ; 
thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the 
house, neither shall ye break a bone thereof." Although Jesus 
might resemble the paschal lamb in this last respect, in many 
others there was no resemblance whatever, as in the eating of it, 
and the sprinkling of its blood on the door-posts. A spiritual 
resemblance, however, to this, and to the lambs used in the sacri- 
fices, was supplied by the doctrines of transubstantiation and the 
atonement ; and it is worthy of consideration whether the dispo- 
sition of the disciples, to find types of Jesus in animals so 
commonly used in tbe Jewish sacred rites, did not lay the main 
foundation for these doctrines. 

John xix. 37. "And again another Scripture saith, They shall look on 
him whom they pierced." 

Zech. xii. 10 : " And I will pour upon the house of David, and 
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of 
supplication ; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, 
and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, 
and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for 
his firstborn." The God of Israel promises a restoration of Jeru- 
salem, and describes the bitter repentance which the Jews will then 
feel for piercing or blaspheming and injuriously treating himself. 

* Hist. Nat. xiv. 15. 

f Babyl. Sanhed., fol. 43, " Prodeunti ad supplicium capitis, potum de- 
derunt, granumque thuris in poculo vini, ut turbaretur intellectus ejus."— 
See Rosenmiiller in Matt, xxvii. 

The incense described Bxod. xxx. 34. contained stacte, which Pliny and 
Dioscorides spoke of as being fresh or liquid myrrh. 

J Kosenm. in Matt, xxvii. 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 267 

A word, signifying properly to pierce, is used in the sense of 
blaspheming, Levit. xxiv. 11. To express the first person by the 
third after the intervention of a relative is a common Hebraism.* 
To " mourn as for an only son," was only a proverbial phrase for 
excessive mourning. See Jer. vi. 26 ; Amos viii. 10. 

It is worth while to notice here a curious text, which, although 
not quoted by the disciples as a prophecy, seems, as it stands in 
our translation, to present a remarkable coincidence ; especially as 
it precedes Zech. xiii. 7, applied by the Evangelists to Jesus. 
Zech. xiii. 6 : " And one shall say unto him, What are these 
wounds in thine hands ? Then he shall answer, Those with which 
I was wounded in the house of my friends." The explanation 
suggested by Grotius is as follows : The writer describes the time 
when the idols and false prophets shall be banished from the land, 
and the latter fallen into such disrepute, that those who had hi- 
therto followed the profession would be ashamed of it ; and when 
taxed with affecting to be prophets, as evidenced by their rough 
garments, would deny it with many excuses, such as, " I am no 
prophet, but an husbandman, for man taught me to keep cattle 
from my youth :" and when pressed further, " What then are these 
wounds or marks branded upon your hands?" (i. e. certain seals or 
impressions called by Prudentius, sphragitida?, by which many idol- 
worshippers were accustomed to devote themselves to their gods, (see 
Eev. xiii. 16, 17) he shall answer, " They are only those with which 
I was marked in the house of my friends," i. e. as a badge of servi- 
tude to the family whose cattle I was keeping. 

John xx. 10 : " For as yet they knew not the Scriptures, that he must rise 
from the dead." 

See remarks on Acts ii. 25. 

Acts i. 16 : i; This Scripture must Deeds have been fulfilled, which the 

Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Jndas 

20 : For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, 
and let no man dwell therein ; and his bishopric let another take." 



* "Prima persona, sequente maxime relative, ssepissime per tertiam in his 
libris exprimitur. Quern confixerunt, llp"i 11£W a? bv ^(KtvTrjcrav, ut 
habuere Grceci interpretes quidam, et Johannes evangelista, ad Christum 
fivoTiKax; hsec applicans. At LXX, commutatis Uteris perquam similibus, 
legerunt npi avQ' w e$wpxri(ravTo, quia debacchati sunt aut absilierunt. 
Noster sensus optimus est. nam configere Deum dicuntur, qui eum probris 
lacessunt ; nam sic et 3pj quod proprie est jperforare ponitur pro /3\a<r- 
(pt)[iuv. Levit. xxiv. 11. — Grotius Annot." 



268 ON THE PROPHECIES. 

The quotations are from the 69th and 109th Psalms, and have 
no more reference to Judas than to any other wicked person. The 
"writer is denouncing his own adversaries. The first quotation is 
not correct, for the words in the Psalm are, " Let their habita- 
tion," &c. 

Acts ii. 16 : "For this (the gift of tongues) is that which was spoken by 
the prophet Joel, And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I 
will pour out my spirit upon all flesh : and your sons and your daughters 
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men 
shall dream dreams : and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will 
pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy, and I will shew 
wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath ; blood and fire, 
and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon 
into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come ; and it 
shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall 
be saved." 

The latter part of Joel promises, after the captivity, a miracu- 
lous interference of heaven in favour of Israel, and a day of ven- 
geance on the nation's enemies. Peter imagined that this promise 
was about to be fulfilled in his days ; but the event proved that he 
was mistaken. The prophecy of visions and dreams fulfilled itself, 
for it occasioned the belief in the church that such gifts were really 
amongst them, and the belief produced instances. Nevertheless, 
the gift of languages, with a view to which Peter introduces the 
prophecy, is not mentioned in it. 

Acts ii. 25 : " For David speaketh concerning him (Christ), I foresaw 
the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should 
not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. 
Moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope. Because thou wilt not leave 
my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. 

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch 

David, that he is both dead ar»d buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto 
this day : therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God hath sworn 
with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he 
would raise up Christ to sit on his throne, he seeing this before spake of 
the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his 
flesh did see corruption." 

The Psalm is one of thanksgiving, and there is no reason to 
suppose tbat David meant to speak of any one but himself. The 
latter part runs thus, Psalm xvi. 6 : " The lines are fallen unto me 
in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the 
Lord, who hath given me counsel ; my reins also instruct me in 
the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; because 
he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 269 

is glad, and my glory rejoiceth : my flesh also shall rest in hope. 
For thon wilt not leave my soul in hell (hades, the grave) ; neither 
wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt shew 
me the path of life : in thy presence is fulness of joy ; at thy right 
hand are pleasures for evermore." 

The writer of the Psalms appears to have believed in the im- 
mortality of the soul, and the possibility of its existence apart 
from the body. His meaning is clearly this : " The prospect of 
the grave even shall not prevent me from hoping in God all the 
days of my flesh ; for thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave, 
although my body may remain there ; neither wilt thou suffer thy 
saint (i. e. his soul) to see the corruption which his body will 
undergo ; but rescuing me, i. e. my then disembodied soul, from 
the gloomy hades, thou wilt shew to it some secret path of life." 
The same sentiment occurs Psalm xlix. 15, " But God shall re- 
deem my soul from the power of the grave." 

But Peter, or Luke, in order to accommodate the Psalm to 
Jesus, introdtices a totally different sense, and concludes as if 
David had said that his body or flesh should not see corruption, 
which David manifestly does not say. The substitution of the 
word "flesh" for "thine holy one " is too notable an alteration to 
be admitted without question; yet upon the equivalency of the two 
expressions is Peter's whole argument built. 

Psalm cxxxii. 11 : " The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David, 
he will not turn from it, Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy 
throne : if thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony, 
their children also shall sit upon thy throne for evermore." But 
Jesus did not appear again to sit on the throne of David, as Peter 
seems to have expected ; therefore there is no ground for applying 
this to him. 

Acts iii. 22 : " For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall 
the Lord your God raise up unto you, of your brethren, like unto me ; him 
shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you." 

See remark on Luke xxiv. 27. 

Acts iii. 24 : " Tea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that 
follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. 
25 : Te are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God 
made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the 
kindreds of the earth be blessed." 

Some passages in Isaiah and Micah seem to point to a religious 
conversion of all mankind ; but the general subjects of all the pro- 
phets are the distresses of Israel, and his future glory. 



270 ON THE PROPHECIES. 

Acts iv. 25 : " Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why 
did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things 1 The kings of 
the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, 
and against his Christ (anointed). For of a truth against thy holy child 
Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the 
Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together." 

The 2nd Psalm appears to be a coronation ocle, addressed to 
David, the Lord's anointed. A parallel passage is in Psalm 
lxxxix. 20 : "I have found David my servant ; with my holy oil 
have I anointed him 27 : Also I will make him my first- 
born, higher than the kings of the earth." 

Acts viii. : The 53rd chapter of Isaiah applied to Christ by 
Philip. 

This will be considered in a separate chapter. 

Acts x. 43 : "To him (Jesus) give all the prophets witness, that through 
his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." 

Nothing of this is to be found in any of the prophets. 

Acts xiii. 27 : " For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, be- 
cause they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are 
read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him." 

The only passage which appears to countenance the doctrine of 
a suffering Messiah, is Dan. ix. 26 : " And after threescore and 
two weeks shall Messiah be cut off." This admits of various 
readings ; and the time cannot be made to agree with the death of 
Jesus. See chap, on Daniel. 

Acts xiii. 32 : " The promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath 
fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus 
again ; as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my son ; this 
day have I begotten thee." 

Since the Psalm contains no reference to Jesus (see note on 
Acts iv. 35), these words might be applied to any supposed in- 
stance of divine protection towards any person whatever, as well 
as to the resurrection of Christ. 

Act xiii. 34 : " And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, 
now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you 
the sure mercies of David." 

Nathan the prophet promised David (2 Sam. vii. 15, 16), that 
the Lord's mercy should not depart from him as it did from Saul, 
and that his throne should be established for ever. But being 
raised from the dead, and maintaining the throne of David, are 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 271 

Yery different things ; and it is not surprising that the Jews of 
Pisidia contradicted the things spoken by Paul. 

Acts xv. 15: "And to this (the conversion of the Gentiles) agree the 
words of the prophets, as it is written, After this I will return, and will 
build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down : and I will 
build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up, that the residue of men 
might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is 
called, saith the Lord, who doeth these things." 

Amos ix. 11, 12: "In that day" (on the return of Israel 
from among all nations) " will I raise up the tabernacle of 
David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, and I 
will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of 
old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all 
the heathen which are called by my name (or upon whom my 
name is called), saith the Lord, that doeth this." In Obadiah, 
17 — 20, is a similar passage, with a list of the territories which 
Israel is to possess, viz. Edom, the Philistines, the field of 
Ephraim, of Samaria, Gilead, &c. It is probable, therefore, that 
Amos alluded to an increase of the dominion of Israel. The 
apostle James (or Luke) has misquoted the propbecy, and made 
it to signify the conversion of the Gentiles to the religion of Jesus, 
to which meaning it could not have been strained, if he had quoted 
correctly. 

Acts xvii. 2 : " And Paitl, as his manner was, went in unto them (the 
Jews of Thessalonica), and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of 
the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, 
and risen again from the dead." 

Ver. 28 : " For he (Apollos) mightily convinced the Jews, and that pub- 
licly, shewing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ." 

These passages show that the early Christians rested the proof 
of the Messiahship of Jesus mainly on the agreement of his 
character with the prophecies. We have seen that, in many of 
those quoted, there appears to be no agreement, and that in some 
cases they altered the prophecies. There is reason, then, to sus- 
pect that when in these public discourses they were hard pushed 
by the Jews, they might be tempted to make out the correspon- 
dence the other way, by altering the facts. 

Acts xxvi. 22 : " Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto 
this day .... saying none other things than those which the prophets and 
Moses did say should come, that Christ should suffer, and that he should 
be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew bight unto the 
people, and to the Gentiles." 

Acts xxvi. 27 : " King Agrippa, believe st thou the prophets V 



272 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 



Paul again chooses to rest the truth of his preaching on pro- 
phecy. If we suppose that Paul used here also such arguments 
as this, that the texts, " Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten 
thee," and " I will give you the sure mercies of David," signified 
that Christ was raised from the dead, we cannot wonder that 
Festus should have thought that this kind of argument contained 
more learning than common sense. 

Acts xxviii. 23 : "And when they (the Jews of Rome) had appointed him 
a day, there came many to him into his lodging ; to whom he expounded 
and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both 
out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets, from morning until evening. 
And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not." 

From Paul's threat to turn to the Gentiles, it would seem that 
those who did not believe were the greater part. In an assembly 
of Jews, therefore, well disposed to examine the question fairly, 
his argument from prophecy failed. 



And we need not be surprised that Paul failed, after thus 
examining the manner in which he and the other apostles were 
accustomed to argue from prophecy. We see that they selected 
sentences from all parts of the Old Testament, tearing them from 
the context, and applying them, without regard to their original 
meaning, to the history of Jesus. If the words bore a resemblance 
in sound only, they were pressed into the service, and sometimes 
altered so as to adapt them to their new application. By this 
method, a large collection of writings, like the Old Testament, 
might afford a tolerable description of any person whatever. 
Nevertheless, it is not necessary to suppose that, in this misinter- 
pretation, the apostles pursued all along a system of intentional 
fraud. Very few of the Jews in their time attended so much to 
historical criticism as to be able to pronounce on the original 
meaning of all the prophetical parts of the Old Testament. Like 
many persons in our own time, they quoted them piecemeal, as if 
they were a collection of separate oracles. Jesus adapted some of 
his actions intentionally to the prophecies, and claimed to be the 
predicted Messiah : this put his followers upon seeking for more 
evidence of the same sort, and, thus biassed, they imagined that 
they discovered abundant coincidences. Afterwards, quoting from 
memory in their public discourses, they gave to the words the same 
turn which they had already given mentally to the sense ; and, 



ON THE PROPHECIES. 273 

acquiring thus the habit of making out coincidences, they insen- 
sibly altered also their narratives of facts.* 



* Basnage (Hist, of Jews, ch. xxvi.) gives an account of the notions of 
the Talmudists and Eabbis concerning the Messiah expected by the Jews. 
They are extremely confused and contradictory. The Rabbis agree that 
the prophets contain oracles relating to the Messiah, but that the particular 
oracles which indicate his coming cannot be distinguished. Some say they 
were fulfilled in the person of Hezekiah. Maimonides gives for the true 
character of the Messiah, that he shall overcome all nations and never die. 
Some acknowledge that all the terms fixed for the coming of the Messiah 
are past. Hillel, who lived in the century before Jesus Christ, said, " There 
is no more a Messiah for Israel ; for they had a fruition of him in the time 
of Hezekiah." Nevertheless, the Jews generally expect confidently that he 
will still come, saying, that God hath put off the time of his coming on 
account of the sins of the people, and that he will appear when they repent. 
Some Rabbis maintain that there will be two Messiahs ; the first, the son 
of Joseph, called Nehemiah, with the tribes of Manasseh and Bphraim, will 
war successfully against the Romans, and recover the vessels of the sanctuary 
hid in the palace of the emperor Julian ; but he himself will be killed by 
the giant Armillus, a pseudo-Messiah or Antichrist. Afterwards shall ap- 
pear the second Messiah, the son of David, accompanied by Elijah ; he is 
to kill Armillus, restore Jerusalem, destroy all the enemies of Judah, and 
raise the dead. At his banquet, the Leviathan will form the first course, 
God having killed and salted him for that purpose : the Behemoth will be 
served up for meat ; and the fowl will consist of the bird Bariuchne, whose 
wings, when opened, cover the sun, and one of whose eggs having fallen, 
drowned sixty cities. This fable gave rise to a formulary of oath common 
among the Jews, " If I lie, let me never eat of the wild ox, i. e. the 
behemoth." 

The following passage from Maimonides "de Regibus et Messia," not 
contained in all the editions, and alleged by Schoettgen to be erased by the 
Jews themselves, but quoted by Wagenseil on the Tract Sota, p. 346, is 
interesting, as showing partly the thoughts of an eminent Jew on Jesus and 
the hopes of his n'ation : — 

" Also concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who believed himself to be the Mes- 
siah, and was slain by the Sanhedrim, Daniel hath thus prophesied, ' Et filii 
effractorum populi tui efferent se ad stabiliendam visionem et cadent,' (in 
our version " and the robbers, or children of the robbers of thy people shall 
exalt themselves to establish the vision, but shall fall,") Dan. xi. 14. For 
what stumbling-block is greater than this, that all the prophets said that 
Messiah was to deliver, preserve, and gather the Israelites, and to adopt 
their laws 1 But he occasioned Israel to perish by the sword, and his rem- 
nants to be dispersed and oppressed, and the law to be changed, and many 
to be perverted, and another besides Jehovah to be worshipped. But to 
attain to the thoughts of the Creator is not in the strength of man. For our 
ways are not his ways, nor our thoughts his thoughts. All these things of 
Jesus, the Nazarenes, and of the Ishmaelites who rose up after him (the 
Mahometans), are only to prepare the way for King Messias, and to prepare 
the whole world to serve Jehovah in unity, as is said Zeph. iii. 9, ' Then will 



274 ON THE PROPHECIES. 

The hypothesis of a secondary or mystical sense in the writings 
of the Old Testament is totally unsupported. The writers them- 
selves do not pretend to have more than one meaning, which in 
most cases is a very intelligible one, relating to events near their 
own times. A very striking and continuous correspondence with 
the history of Jesus might seem to justify such an hypothesis; but 
it has been shown that there is no such correspondence, the coin- 
cidences being only few and imperfect. 

Let us now examine more at length the prophecies most relied 
on by Christians, viz, the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, and the book of 
Daniel. 



I turn to all people a pure language, that all may call upon the Lord, to 
serve him with one consent (shoulder).' How 1 The world, hath long been 
filled with words of the Messiah, of the law, and of the commandments, 
(i. e. probably with the fame of them,) and these things are diffused in 
many islands and many nations, circumcised in heart and flesh, and hence 
they object and answer concerning those things, even the mysteries of the 
law, and say, 'These commandments are the truth ; but now for a long time 
they have ceased, nor are to be used any more.' Moreover they say, ' In 
these things were mysteries not expounded ; but King Messias hath come, 
and revealed their secrets.' But when King Messias shall indeed come, he 
will prosper and be exalted, and they will all return, and know that these 
were falsehoods." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 

The Jewish sacred writings were burnt or dispersed at the time 
of the captivity, and afterwards collected together again, as is gene- 
rally agreed, by Ezra.* In the second book of Maccabees we read 
that " Nehemiah founded a library, and gathered together the acts 
of the kings and the prophets, and of David, and the epistles of 
the kings, concerning the holy gifts," (about 445 B. C.,) 2 Mace, 
ii. 13. This collection was doubtless that made by Ezra the priest, 
who was more qualified for such a task than the viceroy himself, 
and it appears to have been the first regular compilation of the 
Prophets and Psalms. But since Nehemiah or Ezra had to deal 
with a miscellaneous collection, written at different times within 
the six centuries before their time, it is probable that there were 
some pieces of which they could not ascertain the exact date or 
authorship, and which consequently they might have placed under 
a wrong name. Between the time of Ezra and that of the Septua- 
gint translation, (B.C. 277,) it is allowed that the Jews were 
careless about the custody and transcription of their sacred books, j" 
Josephus, in his account of the Septuagint, makes Ptolemy's 
librarian say to the king, " And I let you know that we want the 
books of the Hebrew legislation, with some others ; for they are 
written in the Hebrew characters, and are to us unknown. It hath 



* The Christian fathers generally believed that Ezra was divinely insjjired 
to republish the lost and corrupted writings. Iren. contra Hger.. 1. iii. 
xxi. 2. " The Scriptures having been corrupted during the captivity under 
Nebuchadnezzar, and the Jews having returned after seventy years into 
their country, afterwards, in the time of Artaxerxes, God inspired Ezra to 
remember all the discourses of the former prophets, and to restore to the 
people the law of Moses." 

f " Immo et Buxtorfius hoc est confessus, Judseos a tempore Esdrre negli- 
geutiores fuisse circa textum Hebrseum, et non curiosos circa lectionem 
veram." — Kennicott, Diss. Gen., sect. 19. 



276 ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 

also happened to therm that they have been transcribed more care- 
lessly than they should have been, because they hare not had 
hitherto royal care taken about them." Ant. xii. ii. 4. This 
applied to the law ; but the prophets were quite as likely to be 
transcribed carelessly. Moreover, the sacred books were again 
dispersed under Antiochus Epiphanes, and re-arranged by Judas 
Maccabams (about 165 B.C.). 

It is not surprising, then, that the prophetic writings have come 
down to us in a disorderly state, and that parts of one author's 
writings are found mixed with those of another. 

The book of Isaiah appears to be a mixture of this kind. The 
first thirty-nine chapters contain much that was probably written 
by Isaiah himself, viz. the threatenings against Babylon, Moab, 
Tyre, &c, and the fragments of the history of Abaz and Hezekiah, 
which must be parts of some larger and connected work of Isaiah ; 
for it is said, 2 Chron. xxvi. 22, " Now the rest of the acts of 
Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, 
write :" yet there is none of the history of Uzziah in the present 
book of Isaiah. The thirty-ninth chapter ends abruptly in the 
midst of the history of Hezekiah, and the fortieth begins abruptly 
with the words, " Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your 
God." 

The rest of the book, from these words, appears to be one con- 
nected exhortation to the Jews on their return from captivity under 
Zerubbabel, B. C. 536. It seems to be the work of some patriotic 
Israelite about that time, in order to inspire the people with zeal 
and courage to restore their nationality, according to the permission 
of Cyrus. For if we compare the account of this memorable event 
in Ezra with these last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah, we find 
the latter expressing exactly the feelings natural to a Jew on such 
an occasion. They speak throughout of the long sufferings under- 
gone by Israel in punishment of the nation's sins, and of the 
glorious prospect opening upon them ; of the assistance rendered 
by the Gentiles in restoring them to their country, which agrees 
with the decree of Cyrus, Ezra i. 4 — 6 ; of the fall of their old 
enemy Babylon ; and Cyrus himself is twice mentioned by name, 
xliv. 28 ; xlv. 1. There are many comparisons between the God 
of Israel and idols, and intimations that the true God was becoming- 
known to the Gentiles by means of his servant Jacob ; which 
agrees with the desire of the neighbouring nations to join with the 
Jews in rebuilding the temple, Ezra iv. 2. It may be answered, 
that all this might have been written by Isaiah in the spirit of 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 277 

prophecy, two hundred years previously ; but of this there is no 
proof beyond the fact that it has been found since the time of 
Maccabasus in the miscellaneous collection called Isaiah ; therefore 
it is more probable that these chapters were written by some one 
contemporary with the events and persons which he describes. 

The prevailing idea is that Jacob or Israel, the personification 
of the Jewish nation, is the chosen servant of God ; that through- 
out all his vicissitudes he is specially protected by Him ; and that 
his late sufferings were owing to the nation's sins. I will extract 
some passages which have a bearing upon those usually interpreted 
of Christ. 

Isaiah xli. 2 : " Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called 
him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over 
kings 1 He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to 
his bow." 

By comparing this with xlv. 1 — 3, Cyrus appears to be the 
person intended. Persia or Elam lay to the east of Babylon. 

Yer. 8 : " But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, 

the seed of Abraham, my friend 10 : Fear thou not, for I am with 

thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee, yea, I 
will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
righteousness." 

Here there can be no doubt who the servant is, viz. the Jewish 
people, considered figuratively as one man, their ancestor Jacob. 

Isaiah xlii. 1 : " Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom 
my soul delighteth : I have put my spirit upon him ; he shall bring forth 
judgment to the Gentiles." 

Matthew has applied this to Jesus, xii. 18. Grotius* and 
Rosenmullerf think it should be understood of Isaiah himself. The 
similarity of the description, however, would lead one to suppose 
that the servant here is the same as the one in the preceding 
chapter, viz. Jacob. And the Septuagint surely settles the 
point, for it inserts the name, "Jacob is my servant, I will uphold 
him; Israel is my elect," &c. The vanity of the Gentiles' gods 
had just been described, and now Jacob is shown to be a light to 
lighten the Gentiles, by making known to them his God. 

* Annot. in Esaiam. 

f Scholia. Rosenmiiller considers xl. 6, 27 ; xli. 1, 8, 25 ; xlii. 1, 14 ; 
xlviii. 16 ; li. 1 ; lxi. 1 ; to refer to the prophet himself. But he allows, in 
his note on xlix. 3, that he fluctuated long between that interpretation and 
the one which refers the passage to the whole Jewish people. 



278 ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 

Ver. 2 : "He shall not cry nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in 

the street." 

The mute and humble condition of Jacob at Babylon, and under 
the Persians. 

Ver. 3, 4 : "A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall 
he not quench : he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not 
fail, nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth, and the isles 
shall wait for his law." 

Whilst other nations are famous for magnificence or martial 
glory, the oppressed Jacob is distinguished for his mildness, inno- 
cence, and possession of the truth concerning God, which he will 
spread to other nations. 

Ver. 5 — 8 : " Thus saith G-od, the Lord I the Lord have called thee 

in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee 
for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles ; to open the blind 
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in dark- 
ness out of the prison-house. I am the Lord ; that is my name, and my 
glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." 

This agrees with the description of Jacob in the preceding chap- 
ter, xli. 10 — 17. The 15th verse had represented him as a "new 
sharp instrument," to execute some purpose of the Lord concerning 
the heathen. This chapter shows the purpose to be the extirpation 
of the idols, and the diffusion of the knowledge of the Lord. 

Ver. 18 : " Hear, ye deaf ; and look, ye blind, that ye may see." 
Ye blind idolaters, see the light of the true religion of Israel. 

Ver. 19 : " "Who is blind but my servant ? or deaf as my messenger that I 
sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant?" 

Jacob himself is more blind than any of them, not to see the 
purpose, of God concerning him through all his political vicissi- 
tudes, viz. that he is to be God's messenger to give light to the 
Gentiles. 

Ver. 20 : " Seeing many things, but thou observest not ; opening the ears, 
but he heareth not." 

Although he gives light to others, he remains blind himself, 
for the nation does not generally recognize the said evident pur- 
pose of God. 

Ver. 21 : " The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake ; he will 
magnify the law, and make it honourable." 

Nevertheless, since Jacob has preserved his fidelity to God by 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 279 

maintaining his law delivered by Moses, the Lord will at last 
exalt him and the law amongst the nations. 

Ver. 22 : " But this is a people robbed and spoiled ; they are all of them 
snared in holes, and hid ha prison-houses : they are for a prey, and none 
delivereth ; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore." 

The anticipated objection of an opponent. How can it be true 
that God intends such great things for his people, when we see 
them robbed? &c. 

Ver. 23, 24 : " Who among you will give ear to this ? Who will hearken 
and hear for the time to come ? Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to 
the robbers 1 Did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned ? for 
they would not walk in his ways." 

The writer's answer. The sufferings of Jacob in his seventy 
years' captivity are no disproof of God's special protection of him, 
but the contrary, for they were inflicted to turn the people from 
their sins. 

Isaiah xliii. 10 : " Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant 
whom I have chosen." 

Isaiah xliv. 2 : " Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee 
from the womb, which will help thee, Fear not, Jacob my servant, and thou 
Jesurun, whom I have chosen." 

These, and many similar verses, show that the servant spoken 
of continues to be Jacob or Israel. They show also that the dis- 
tinction between the people themselves and their emblematic repre- 
sentative Jacob is not always accurately preserved, but that the 
writer sometimes passes loosely from one to the other ; as is na- 
tural, from the difficulty of maintaining the figurative style through 
the whole of a long composition. A writer who should usually 
speak of the English nation under the names of Albion or Bri- 
tannia, would be very apt sometimes to drop into the plainer style 
of the people of England, or Englishmen ; and in a poetical com- 
position he would be allowed to use the terms as synonymous, or 
to consider the individuals composing the nation as distinct from 
their collective representative, as suited his purpose. 

Isaiah xlv. 1 : ' ; Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose 

right hand I have holden to subdue nations before him 3 : I will 

give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that 
thou mayest know, that I the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the 

God of Israel 4 : For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, 

I have even called thee by thy name : I have surnamed thee, though thou 
hast not known me 13 : I have raised him up in righteousness, and I 



280 ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 

will direct all his ways : lie shall build my city, and he shall let go my 

captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of Hosts xlvi. 9 : 

I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, 

and from ancient times the things that are not yet done 11 : Calling 

a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my council from a 
far country ; yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass." 

These passages show that the book was originally put forth 
under the character of a prophecy. The elevation of the senti- 
ments throughout the book is not incompatible with this kind of 
pious fraud, if such a name be applicable in this case ; for pro- 
phecy was the favourite species of writing with the Jews, and their 
poets usually adopted it. Their God foresaw all things from the 
beginning. The description of events as contemplated by him in 
the future, presented a more vivid picture to the imagination than 
an historical narrative in the past tense. The writer believed that 
the Lord had decreed in his own councils the advent of Cyrus, and 
had even predetermined his name ; and the Lord is poetically re- 
presented as announcing his decrees. 

Isaiah xlix. 1 : "Listen, isles, unto me ; and hearken, ye people from afar." 

Here begins a triumphant song of Jacob on account of the de- 
parture from Babylon, introduced by the preceding chapter. 

Isaiah xlix. 3, 4 : " (The Lord) said unto me, Thou art my servant, Israel, 
in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have 
spent my strength for nought, and in vain ; yet surely my judgment is with 
the Lord, and my work with my God." 

I, Jacob, seem still to have laboured in vain in keeping God's 
law, and to be without a reward ; for, after all, I am poor, despised, 
subject to the Persians, and although restored to Palestine, yet 
only a small remnant compared with the numerous twelve tribes 
who formerly inhabited the land. 

Isaiah xlix. 5: "And now saith the Lord that formed me from the 
womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not 
gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall 
be my strength." 

The Lord that formed me, Jacob his servant, saith, in order to 
bring me again to him, after such a long apparent estrangement 
from his favour at Babylon, Though the tribes of Israel be not all 
gathered into their land, yet I, Jacob, shall still be glorious in the 
eyes of the Lord, for he hath a higher purpose concerning me than 
to make me politically a great nation. 



OS THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 281 

Isaiah xlix. 6 : " And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be 
my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved (or 
desolations) of Israel : I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that 
thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." 

To restore thy tribes and kingdom to their former greatness is 
but little, compared with the higher office to which thou, Jacob, 
art appointed, of giving light to the Gentiles.* 

Isaiah xlix. 7 : u Thus saith the Lord, the Bedeemer of Israel, and his 
Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation (Gentiles) 
abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall 
worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, 
and he shall choose thee." 

The despised Jacob shall at last receive homage from the princes 
of the earth, of which we see the beginning in the respect now 
paid to the Jewish nation by Cyrus. The despised one evidently 
means the Jewish nation, because nearly the same things are said 
of it ver. 21 — 23, under the name of Zion. 

Isaiah 1. i : " The Lord hath given me the tongue of the learned." 
Grotius again supposes this and the following verses to refer to 
Isaiah, and Jerome says that the Jews understood them in this 
way. But on comparing ver. 7 with xli. 10 — 1-4, it seems more 
natural to consider Jacob the speaker. 

Isaiah lii. 11, 12 : " Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence ; touch 
no unclean thing ; go ye out of the midst of her ; be ye clean that bear the 
vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go with haste, nor go by flight." 

A parallel passage to chap, xlviii. 20, " Go ye forth of Babylon." 
Cyrus permitted the Jews to carry back the sacred vessels ; and 
the return was conducted by Zerubbabel with great order, each 
family being numbered. Ezra i. ii. 

Isaiah lii. 13 : " Behold my servant shall deal prudently (or, prosper) ; 
he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high." 



* Grotius, Eosenmiiller, and others, suppose that Isaiah in the beginning 
of this chapter speaks of himself. But this interpretation also would re- 
quire a very forced construction of some parts, and particularly of verse 3. 
Whereas the other interpretation, viz. that Jacob and the Lord are the only 
speakers, agrees well with the whole strain of the book, whilst the difficulty 
seems to be owing merely to the loose manner of using the pronouns in 
Hebrew, the first and third persons being frequently interchanged, of which 
there are many instances even in Josephus. See also Acts xvii. 2, 3. 
Grotius concludes that the reading in the text of ver. 5 is the true one. and 
not the marginal reading. 



282 ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 

A parallel passage to xlviii. 15, where, after speaking of the 
fall of Babylon, it is said, " He (Jacob) shall make his way 
prosperous." 

There is no reason to suppose that another subject, such as the 
mission of Christ, is introduced here. Supposing the " servant" 
to mean, as usual, Jacob or Israel, the connexion with what goes 
before is easy and natural. Jacob, by the return from captivity, 
shall prosper, &c. • 

Isaiah lii. 14 : "As many were astonished at thee (Lowth, him) : his 
visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons 
of men." 

The disgraced state of Jacob at Babylon. 

Isaiah lii. 15 : " So shall he sprinkle many nations, the kings shall shut 
their mouths at him ; for that which had not been told them shall they see ; 
and that which they had not heard, shall they consider." 

Cyrus confesses that '■' the Lord God of Israel, he is the God," 
Ezra i. 3 ; other kings shall follow his example, and wonder to 
find that the small despised Jewish nation was God's instrument 
for so mighty a purpose. The following is a parallel passage ad- 
dressed to Zion, xlix. 23: "And kings shall be thy nursing 
fathers and their queens thy nursing mothers : they shall bow 
down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust 
of thy feet." 

Isaiah liii. 1 : "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm 
of the Lord revealed ?" 

Who is not surprised at hearing this account of God's dealings 
with Jacob, and his intentions in laying afflictions upon him ? 

Isaiah liii. 2 : "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and 
as a root out of a dry ground : he hath no form nor comeliness ; and when 
we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." 

At Babylon Jacob or Israel was like a plant growing on a harsh 
soil. The nation was in slavery, and had none of the beauty and 
splendour of an independent people. In chap. xliv. 3, Jacob is 
compared to the dry ground itself; which is nearly parallel to the 
root out of a dry ground in tbis place. 

Isaiah liii. 3 : "He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, 
and acquainted with grief ; and we hid, as it were, our faces from him ; 
(or he hid, as it were, his face from us ;) he was despised, and we esteemed 
him not." 

In chap. xlix. 7, Jacob or Israel is called "him whom man 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 283 

despiseth." The latter part seems to mean, because of the con- 
tempt into which the Jewish nation had fallen, we Jews even were 
become ashamed of it. 

Isaiah liii. 4 : " Surely, he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows ; 
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." 

The sorrows of Jacob are our own, and ought to endear him 
the more to us Jews ; yet many of us began to consider our nation 
forsaken by God, and were inclined to renounce our nationality. 

Isaiah liii. 5 : " But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was 
bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and 
with his stripes (or bruise) we are healed. 6 : All we like sheep have gone 
astray : we hare turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid 
on him the iniquity of us all." 

The right view of the nation's or Jacob's sufferings is, that 
they are to correct the iniquities of the people. Our country hath 
suffered much since the days of Nebuchadnezzar ; but by this, we 
Jews are healed or made righteous. A parallel place is xliii. 
24 — 28 : " Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities ; . . . thy 
first father hath sinned, and teachers have transgressed against 
me. Therefore 1 have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to 
reproaches." 

Isaiah liii. 7 : "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not 
his mouth : and he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter ; and as a sheep 
before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." 

Jacob hath patiently endured his hard tribulation at Babylon. 

Isaiah liii. 8 : " He was taken from prison and from judgment, and (or, he 
was taken away by distress and judgment, but) who shall declare his gene- 
ration 1 for he was cut off out of the land of the living : for the transgres- 
sion of my people was he stricken" (or, was the stroke upon them). 

Jacob was taken away from his own land by a severe judgment,* 
and who can help wondering at the strangeness of his life and 
fortunes ? for he became then to all appearance dead, being blotted 
out from the nations, the divine justice requiring this penalty for 
the sins of the people. 

Isaiah liii. 9 : "And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the 
richf in his death (in Hebrew, deaths), because (or, although) he had done 
no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." 

* According to Kimchi, " Opressus est exactionibus pecuniarum." 

f In the present Hebrew test, the word is in the singular, "cum divite ;" 



284 ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 

Babylon, that idolatrous and rich city, seemed to be his tomb, 
his kings and people being carried thither to die.* 

Isa. liii. 10 : " Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him ; he hath put him to 
grief ; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin (or, when his soul 
shall make an offering for sin), he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his 
days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." 

Yet all this was done by the Lord his God, not with a view to 
destroy him, but to fulfil his own deep purposes ; for when the 
people have thoroughly repented of their sins, and gone through the 
penalty decreed, Jacob shall be restored as a nation; a fresh race of 
Jews shall spring up, and become a firm and flourishing people. 

Ver. 11 : " He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied : 
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many : for he shall 
bear their iniquities."f 

Ver. 12 : " Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he 
shall divide the spoil with the strong ; because he hath poured out his soul 
unto death : and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the 
sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." 

By his preserving the knowledge of the law of God, Jacob 
shall justify his people, or wash away their guilt in the eyes of the 
Lord. In reward, he shall enjoy again temporal prosperity, as 
when the kings of Persia shall compel their tributaries, princes 
stronger than Jacob, to assist him. This shall compensate him 
for the political death which he hath endured, and reward the pa- 
tience with which he has undergone the penalty of the nation's 
sins, and thereby, like Moses, performed the part of an intercessor 
with the Lord for the people. J 

but in Justin's time it seems to have been plural, " cum divitibus." " Qua- 
ter plurali numero vocem (divites) affert Justinus, atque in ea, ac si sincera 
esset, acquiescit." — Kennicott, Dissert., sect. 70. 

* The sense given by Rosenmiiller is, " Quinetiam sepulchrum ei assig- 
narunt cum scelestis ; tumulum sepulchralem juxta f acinorosos," which may 
mean simply that at his death he was accounted and treated as one of the 
wicked. In this case the second clause, "with the rich," &c, would be only 
a poetical repetition of the first. The rich and the wicked seem to be consi- 
dered as nearly synonymous. Job xxvii. 13 — 19. The resemblance of the 
two adjectives reslio and osJieir might have suggested the use of such a 
synonyme. Kimchi says that the plural, "deaths," is used, because the 
Jews suffered many different kinds of deaths from the Babylonians. — See 
Rosenm. Scholia. 

f Lam. v. 7 : " Our fathers have sinned, and are not, and we have borne 
their iniquities." 

% It is possible that the "transgressors" in this verse may mean the 
idolatrous nations amongst whom Jacob was captive, which would render 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 285 

Isa. liv. 1 : " Sing, barren, thou that didst not bear, break forth into 
singing, and cry aloud .... for more are the children of the desolate than 

the children of the married wife, saith the Lord 3 : For thou shalt 

break forth on the right hand and on the left ; and thy seed shall inherit 
the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited." 

The same subject is continued, but Jerusalem or Zion, a female, 
is introduced instead of Jacob. The same transition occurs in ch. 
xlix. The idea here is the same as in ch. liii. 10, "he shall see 
his seed;" and as the Jewish nation is plainly intended in this 
place, it is reasonable to suppose that it is in the former also. 



Thus is this celebrated fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, which has 
been considered the chief prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, ex- 
plained without any reference to him ; and it is for the reader to 
determine if the sense here given to the chapter does not upon the 
whole agree well with the context both before and after it, and 
with the style and ideas of the whole book, in numerous parts of 
which the figurative is strained nearly as much as is required by 
this interpretation. Whereas, if the passage be considered to 
relate to Christ, it is torn from the context, and the writer is made 
to introduce a new subject without giving any notice, and to return 
as abruptly to his usual one. Bishop Lowth warns us, at ch. xlii., 
that the writer is now about to speak of the Messiah;* but the 
writer is surely little obliged to the Bishop for making him inco- 
herent without necessity. The Bishop informs us also that the 
Messiah is often spoken of in this book under the name of Jacob 
or Israel ; j but that these names mean here something quite dif- 
ferent from what they usually do in the Old Testament, viz. the 
Jewish nation, is an unnatural and unsupported hypothesis. It is 



this a parallel passage to Jer. xxix. 7 : "And seek the peace of the city, 
whither I have caused you to be earned away captives, and pray unto the 
Lord for it." But it seems more consistent to consider the transgressors 
here the same as in ver. 8. 

The Eabbi David Kimchi supposed that, at ver. 1, the idolatrous kings 
and nations mentioned in the preceding chapter begin to speak, and that 
this whole chapter expresses their wonder at finding the Jewish nation 
destined to expiate their iniquities and to convert them. But it seems more 
consistent with the rest of the book to suppose that the iniquities of the 
Jewish people themselves are here intended ; since Jacob or Zion is so fre- 
• quently said to bear the iniquities of the people. — xlii. 24 ; 1. 1 ; xliii. 27. 

* Lowth on Isaiah, notes on ch. xlii. 

f Ibid, notes on ch. lii. 



286 ON THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 

true that some of the Rabbis interpreted this chapter as relating 
to the Messiah,* in the same manner as they did many other parts 
of Scripture having obviously no such sense ; for which practice 
they are blamed as fanciful and extravagant by the best modem 
critics. y But some of the most learned and judicious among them, 
including Kimchi and Aben Esra, and the generality of the Jews, 
understood the chapter to relate only to their own nation.^ Origen 
tells us, that when he argued with some Jews in favour of Jesus, 
from the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, one of them replied "that 
the words did not mean one man, but one people, the Jews, who 
were smitten of God, and dispersed among the Gentiles for their 
conversion. "§ He admits, also, that the Jews of his time were 
accustomed to deride the Christians, as not understanding the sense 
of the Scriptures on which they pretended to build so much.| 

Some parts of the chapter cannot apply to Jesus, for he did not 
see his seed, nor prolong his days. The passages, " he bare the 
sin of many," and "the Lord laid upon him the iniquities of us 
all," require, for their application to Jesus, the doctrine of the 
atonement. The supposed types of the paschal and sacrificial 
lambs having laid the foundation for that doctrine,^" it may easily 
be imagined, that the desire to find in every verse of this chapter 
an application to Christ contributed to strengthen it. 

The book of Isaiah was a favourite one among the Jews, from 
the beauty of its imagery and the grandeur of its views concerning 
their nation, which it represents as destined to a splendid revival, 



* Aben Esra. " Sunt haud pauci magistrorum nostrorum qui hoc seg- 
mentum de Messia interpret en tux, proptexea quidem quod ma j ores nostxi 
beatas memorise, dicant Messiam natum esse, quo tempoxe destructa est 
domus sanctuarii, sed dein catenis vinctum." Kosenm. Scholia in Es. 

f " Sed constat evangeliorum scxiptores ex singulaxi quadam scripta sacra 
interpretandi ratione, qua? tunc inter Judseos recepta esset, mnlta prophe- 
taxum aliorumque scriptorum Hebxasoxum loca de Messia interpretatos 
esse, quEe a scxiptoxum consilio de aliis pexsonis agerent." Kosenm. addit. 
in cap. xlii. 

X Ibid. Es. liii. 

§ Cont. Cels. i. 55. 

|| Kennicott, Diss. Gen. 80. 

•f The paschal lamb was killed merely for a commemoxative feast, and 
not properly sacrificed ; but in many of the sacrifices, and, amongst others, 
those of sin-offerings, lambs were used. Lev. v. 6. In the New Testament 
Chxist is likened to both. 1 Cox. v. 7 : " Fox even Christ oux passover is 
slain fox us." 1 Pet. i. 18, 19 : " Being redeemed .... with the precious 
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." John 
i. 29 : " Behold the lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world." 



ON THE PROPHECIES OB" ISAIAH. 287 

and to be the instrument for spreading the knowledge of God 
through many nations. Such views were not unnatural to an 
imaginative and patriotic Jew in the days of Cyrus, when the Jews 
had been brought freely into contact with other nations, and when 
the view of the established idolatries around them had contributed 
to exalt their reverence for their own ancient creed. In the na- 
tural order of things, some prophecies have a tendency to fulfil 
themselves ; the spirit and aim of favourite writings impress them- 
selves upon the readers ; and thus the sublime and enthusiastic 
tone of this book of Isaiah was caught up by Jesus, and contri- 
buted to suggest to him the ideas of his Messiahship and of the 
kingdom of heaven. The book contains a mixture of temporal 
and spiritual views ; the Jews are to become a great nation, and 
to spread God's word among the Gentiles. Jesus, accordingly, 
claimed the joint character of king and prophet. The Christ was 
to be both king of Israel, and a light of the world. It was only 
when he had been put to death, and some time had elapsed without 
his re-appearing in his kingly character, that his disciples began 
to represent him chiefly as a spiritual prince. They, too, drew 
largely from the book of Isaiah, and rested upon it their main ar- 
guments from prophecy. 80 prominent a place, indeed, do the 
language and spirit of this book seem to have held in the minds 
of both Jesus and his disciples, that it might be considered as not 
the least among the causes of the establishment of Christianity. 
But when the divine authority of Jesus had come to be acknow- 
ledged as independent and incontestable, the matter was reversed, 
and Christianity was held to be the cause of the book. Instead of 
admitting the natural order of things — that Jesus had imbibed the 
views of a book which he had read — it was supposed that the 
author of the book had, by means of a divine spirit of foresight, 
anticipated the views of Jesus. 

Paley* cites the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah as "the clearest 
and strongest" prophecy of the Old Testament; and argues on the 
improbality that the personage alluded to could mean a nation. 
But he omits to inform his readers that the Jewish nation had 
been repeatedly introduced as one man, Jacob ; and, indeed, makes 
no comparison of the chapter with the context ; so that his argu- 
ments must necessarily mislead a reader who has not previously 
studied the whole book of Isaiah. 



Evid. Part II. ch. i. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ON THE PROPHECIES OP DANIEL. 

Vision of I N the eighth chapter of Daniel there is an account of 
the ram a v i s i on f a ram w |th i^ horns, -which was smitten 
by a he-goat, having a notable horn between his eyes, 
which horn being broken, four other notable horns came up, to- 
ward the four winds of heaven. The chapter itself informs us that 
by this was meant, the conquest of the kings or kingdoms of 
Media and Persia by the king of Grecia ; the first great horn 
being the first king, viz. Alexander the Great, and the four notable 
horns after him four kingdoms which " shall stand up out of the 
nation, but not in his power;" i. e. plainly the four Macedonian 
monarchies of Thrace, Macedon, Syria, and Egypt. 
The little So far the vision is clear, and commentators agree, 

horn. j> u £ D arL i e i gees coming out of the four notable horns, 

a little horn, which plays a very conspicuous part ; and to deter- 
mine who the little horn is, forms the great problem of the book 
of Daniel. Josephus understood it to mean Antiochus Epiphanes ; 
according to Jerome, it was Antiochus as a type of Anti-christ ; 
Sir Isaac Newton thought that it meant the Romans ; Bishop 
Newton, that it meant, first the Romans, and afterwards the 
popes. 

The matter is so far important, that on the meaning of the little 
horn depends mainly the prophetic character of the book of Daniel ; 
i. e. whether it really contains the description of any events which 
happened after the time when it was written ; and also whether 
the writers of the New Testament have made Jesus Christ apply 
correctly several passages from Daniel. 

A close examination of all the passages relating to the little 
horn, will prove that its meaning ought to be limited to Antiochus 
Epiphanes. Compare them, with the two books of Maccabees, 
which describe minutely the events of that time, and which, being 
written also by Jews, render the parallelisms more clear than any 
other history. 



ON THE PROPHECIES OP DANIEL. 289 

Dan. viii. 9 : " And out of one of them (the four notable horns) came 
forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and 
toward the east, and toward the pleasant land." 

1 Maccabees i. 10 : " And there came out of thern (the servants 
of Alexander) " a wicked root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antio- 
chus the king, who had been a hostage at Rome ; and he reigned 
in the 137th year of the kingdom of the Greeks." Then follows 
an account of his conquests in Egypt, and his oppression of 
Judeea. 

Ver. 10 : "And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven ; and it cast 
down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon 
them. 11 : "Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and 
by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary 
was cast down. 12 : And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice 
by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground ; and 
it practised and prospered." 

1 Mace. i. 20 : " And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, 
he returned again in the 143rd year, and went up against Israel 
and Jerusalem with a great multitude, and entered proudly into 
the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick 
of light, and all the vessels thereof, and the table of the shewbread, 
&c. . . . He took also the silver and the gold, and the precious 
vessels ; also he took the hidden treasures which he found. And 
when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having 
made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly. Therefore there 
was great mourning in Israel .... 39 : The sanctuaiy was laid 
waste like a wilderness ; her feasts were turned into mourning, her 
sabbaths into reproach ... 41 : Moreover, king Antiochus wrote 
to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, and every one 
should leave his laws : so all the heathen agreed, according to the 
commandment of the king. Yea, many also of the Israelites 
consented to his religion, and sacrificed unto idols." 

The vision of the little horn is interpreted thus by the angel : 
Ver. 23 : "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the trans- 
gressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding 
dark sentences, shall stand up." 

In 2 Mace. iv. v. is related the wickedness of the high priests, 
Jason and Menelaus, and the prevalence of Greek or heathenish 
fashions at the beginning of the reign of Antiochus. 

Ver. 24 : "And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power : 
and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and practise, and shall 
destroy the mighty and the holy people." 



290 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

" Not by his own power ;" i. e. he did all this by permission of 
God, in order to punish the transgressions of the Jews. 

Dan. viii. 25 : "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper 
in his hand ; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall 
destroy many : he shall also stand up against the prince of princes ; hut he 
shall be broken without hand." 

1 Mace. i. 29 : " And after two years were fully expired, the 
king sent his chief collector of tribute unto the cities of Judah, 
who came into Jerusalem with a great multitude, and spake peace- 
able words unto them, but all was deceit : for when they had given 
him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very 
sore, and destroyed much people of Israel." 

The end of Antiochus was, that he died of a sudden disease, as 
he was on his way to destroy Jerusalem.* 

Ver. 13 : " Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said 
unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concern- 
ing the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the 
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot ? 14 : And he said unto 
me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days ; then shall the sanctuary 
be cleansed." 

Judas Maccabseus cleansed the sanctury on the 25th day of the 
month Casleu, in the year 148 (1 Mace. iv. 52), which would allow 
at most only 2095 days from the entrance of Antiochus into the 
temple in the year 143. But the calculation is perhaps made to the 
death of Antiochus, in 149 ; for the word cleansed is translated 
in the margin "justified." This would give about 2300 days. 



The identity of the little horn with Antiochus is perceived still 
more plainly on reading the whole of the books of the Maccabees. 
The style of speaking, and the sentiments concerning him, are the 
same in the prophet and in the historians. - ]" There is in both an 
expression of vivid indignation at his oppressions, and of trust in 
providence for a final restoration of the nation. Both bring before 
our eyes the dreadful distresses of Israel ; the magnanimity and 
resolute faith with which he effected his own liberation. In the 
prophecy, the events are foretold as to occur near the time of the 
end ; ver. 17 — 19, " Behold, I will make thee know what shall be 
in the last end of the indignation : for at the time appointed the 



* 2 Mace. ix. Polyb. in Excerp. Vales, p. 145. 

f This applies especially to the second book of Maccabees. 



OS THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 291 

end shall be." The writer seems then to have been some one 
living about the time of the events he describes ; for many are apt 
to imagine their own times the last days, or times of the end : but 
the expression would be absurd in the mouth of one who could see 
further into futurity. The days of Antiochus were not the last 
days of the Jewish people, nor, if the writer were really a prophet, 
is there any reason why he should have dwelt so largely and 
earnestly on his oppressions, rather than on subsequent calamities 
of the nation. 

The presumption that the writer was a Jew of the The things 
time of Antiochus Epiphanes, or soon after, is con- noted in the 
firmed by chapter xi. An angel shows to Daniel " what of ^fa 
shall befal his people in the latter days," x. 14. He 
begins with Darius the Mede, alludes briefly to Cyrus, Cambyses, 
Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes,* the conquest of Persia by Alex- 
ander the Great, and the division of his kingdom ; he becomes 
more minute in describing the quarrels and alliances of Syria and 
Egypt until the time of Antiochus Ephiphanes ; and relates his 
history in a warm and impassioned manner. This is exactly the 
manner of historians ; they give a rapid sketch of events long past, 
and increasing details as they approach their own times. But no 
reason can be given why a prophesying angel in the time of 
Daniel should have adopted such a method. After the death of 
Antiochus, the prophecy, which had hitherto been minute and his- 
torical, becomes vague and mysterious, and soon closes. But 
Bishop Newton and others maintain that it goes beyond the time 
of Antiochus, and even their own. Let us, then, endeavour to 
clear up this point, which is so important towards fixing the cha- 
racter of the book. 

Dan. xi. 20 : " Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the 
glory of the kingdom : but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither 
in anger, nor in battle." 

Seleucus Philopator was obliged to pay a heavy tribute to the 
Bomaus, and attempted to plunder the sacred treasure at Jeru- 
salem. f He was poisoned by one of his officers. :£ 



* Since the prophecy is supposed to be given in the time of Daniel, it 
was necessary to glance at the intermediate history, in order to introduce 
the writer's principal topic, viz. a prophetical description of his own times. 
But as this is merely an introduction, he does it very briefly and carelessly, 
and passes at once from Xerxes to Alexander. 

f 2 Mace. iii. % Appian in Syr. 



292 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

Dan. xi. 2] : "And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they 
shall not give the honour of the kingdom : but he shall come in peaceably, 
and obtain the kingdom by flatteries." 

Antiochus Epiphanes, called in Maccabees a wicked root, ob- 
tained tbe kingdom by tbe help of Eumenes, king of Pergamus. 
He mixed mucb with the populace to obtain their favour,* and 
quitted his palace to make room for Tib. Gracchus, the Roman 
ambassador. 

Ver. 22: "And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from 
before him, and shall be broken ; yea also the prince of the covenant." 

A general allusion to the success of Antiochus in Egypt and 
Judea. 

Ver. 23 : " And after the league made with him, he shall work deceitfully ; 
for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people." 

Josephus saysf that " Antiochus circumvented Ptolemy by 
treachery, and seized upon Egypt ;" and that he got possession of 
Jerusalem without fighting. The prophecy seems to allude to a 
first expedition into Egypt, not clearly distinguished from the 
second in 1 Maccabees. See 2 Mace. v. 1. 

Ver. 24 : " He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the 
province, and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his 
fathers' fathers ; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and 
riches ; yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds, even 
for a time." 

Antiochus expended large sums in games.! " He opened also 
his treasure, and gave his soldiers pay for a year .... Nevertheless, 
when he saw that the money of his treasury failed, and that the 
tributes in the country were small, because of the dissension and 
plague which he had brought upon the land in taking away the 
laws which had been of old time, he feared that he should not be 
able to bear the charges any longer, nor to have such gifts to give 
so liberally as he did before ; for he had abounded above the kings 
that were before him." 1 Mace. iii. 28 — 30. 

Ver. 25 : "And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the 
king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall be 
stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army ; but he shall not 
stand, for they shall forecast devices against him." 



* Athen. 1. v. f Antiq. xii. 5, 2. % Polyb. apud Athen. 1. 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 293 

1 Mace. i. 16 : "Now when the kingdom was established before 
Antiochus, he thought to reign overEgypt . . . Wherefore he entered 
Egypt with a great multitude . . . and made war against Ptolemy 
king of Egypt . . . but Ptolemy fled, and many were wounded to 
death. Thus they got the strong cities in the land of Egypt, and 
he took the spoils thereof." According to 2 Mace. v. 1, this was 
his second expedition into Egypt. 

Dan. xi. 26 : "Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy 
him, and his army shall overflow : and many shall fall down slain." 

Many of the Egyptians were favourable to Antiochus, which 
enabled him to overrun the country with ease after the battle of 
Pelusium.* 

Ver. 27 : "And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they 
shall speak lies at one table ; but it shall not prosper : for yet the end shall 
be at the time appointed." 

Antiochus set Ptolemy Philometer at liberty, and pretended 
great friendship towards him.| 

Ver. 28 : " Then shall he return into his own land with great riches, 
and his heart shall be against the holy covenant, and he shall do exploits, 
and return to his own land." 

The capture of Jerusalem and the profanation of the temple are 
related, 2 Mace. v. 11, in such a manner that they might be sup- 
posed to happen immediately after the second expedition into 
Egypt ; but the authors of both books of Maccabees do not ap- 
pear to have observed strict chronological order in the history of 
Antiochus. Their main object was to relate his oppresions of 
the Jews, and they give them in a mass, without stopping to no- 
tice each intervening expedition into Egypt. Hence, the history 
in Maccabees does not run chronologically parallel with the pro- 
phecy, which notices the different expeditions with more detail ; 
and it is possible that the above entrance into Jerusalem may be 
that alluded to at ver. 30, 31. 

Ver. 29 : "At the time appointed, he shall return, and come toward the 
south, but it shall not be as the former or the latter. 30 : For the ships of 
Chitrim shall come against him." 

Antiochus was prevented from completing the subjugation of 
Egypt by the arrival of the Koman ambassadors.^ 



* Diod. in Excerp. Vales. f Diod. in Excerp. Vales. | Liv. 1. 15. 



294 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

Dan. xi. 30 : "Therefore he shall be grieved and return, and have indigna- 
tion against the holy covenant. So shall he do, he shall even return, and have 
intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant." 

2 Mace. v. 11: "Whereupon removing out of Egypt in a 
furious mind, he took the city (Jerusalem) by force of arms." 
Then follows the slaughter of eighty thousand Jews, and the pro- 
fanation of the temple. Ver. 15 : " Yet was he not content with 
this but presumed to go into the most holy temple of all the world ; 
Menelaus, that traitor to the laws and to his own country, being 
his guide." The apostacy of many of the Jews is described also, 
1 Mace. i. 15 : " They made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook 
the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathen, and were 
sold to do mischief." 

Ver. 31 : "And arms* shall stand on his part, and shall pollute the 
sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they 
shall place the abomination that maketh desolate." 

According to the Septuagint, " ffTrEpfxara e£ avrov avarsrt\<sovTai ;" 
Jerome, " ex eo brachia stabunt." Arms, branches, or off-shoots, 
shall proceed from this wicked root, Antiochus ; for his lieutenants, 
Philip, Andronicus, Menelaus, and Apollonius, will be as bad as 
himself. " And he left governors to vex the nations." 2 Mace, 
v. 22. The king's collector fortified himself in the city of David 



* Here is the important point of separation with the commentators. 
Bishop Newton, (Diss. xxii. p. 2,) following Sir Isaac Newton, translates the 
first clause, " and after him, arms (that is, the Eomans) shall stand up ;" 
and informs us that, from this verse, "he" and "the king" mean the 
Eomans. It is not easy to see any necessity for thrusting in the Eomans 
here, since the explanation can go on much better without them ; but if 
they cannot be introduced here, there is no chance of success afterwards ; 
for the rest of the chapter does not afford even such a miserably narrow 
entrance as the word " arms ;" and then the whole must evidently be limited 
to Antiochus, which would bring on the question whether Jesus Christ 
interpreted Daniel rightly in applying the abomination of desolation to the 
time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. The Bishop, however, 
having with much effort, and calling on Sir Isaac Newton and Mr. Mede to 
assist him, brought the Eomans into the chapter, tries to keep them there 
with this remark : "Our Saviour himself making use of this same phrase, 
the abomination of desolation, in his prediction of the destruction of Jeru- 
salem, may convince us that this part of the prophecy refers to that event." 
But he candidly allows that what follows applies in part to the times of 
Antiochus. If we be obliged to conclude that this is the only rational appli- 
cation of what follows, the inference must be that the author of Matthew 
has misapplied this as well as many other parts of the Old Testament, and, 
in this instance, attributed his own mistake to Jesus Christ. 



OX THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 295 

with a strong -wall and towers, which became " a place to lie in 
wait against the sanctuary, and an evil adversary to Israel. Thus 
they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and de- 
filed it." 1 Mace. i. 36, 37. The abomination which maketh 
desolate is explained thus : " Not long after this, the king sent 
an old man of Antioch to compel the Jews to depart from the laws 
of their fathers, and not to live after the laws of God ; and to pol- 
lute also the temple in Jerusalem, and to call it the temple of Ju- 
piter Olympius." 2 Mace. vi. 1. 

Dan. xi. 32 : " And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he 
corrupt by flatteries ; but the people that do know their God shall be strong 
and do exploits."* 

Antiochus flattered as well as threatened in order to induce the 
Jews to change their religion, 2 Mace. vii. 24. Mattathias, how- 
ever, killed the king's commissioner, who was compelling some 
Jews to sacrifice, 1 Mace. ii. 23 : and flying with his sons into the 
mountains, set Antiochus at defiance. 

Ver. 33 : " And they that understand among the people, shall instruct 
many : yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by 
spoil, many days." 

1 Mace. ii. 27 : " And Mattathias cried throughout the city with 
a loud voice, saying, Whosoever is zealous of the law, and main- 

taineth the covenant, let him follow me 29 : Then many 

that sought after justice and judgment, went down into the wilder- 
ness to dwell there 45 : Then Mattathias and his friends 

went round about, and pulled down the altars." Meanwhile the 
oppressions were continued at Jerusalem and other cities. 2 Mace, 
vi. 8—12. 

Ver. 34 : " Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a 
little help ; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries." 

The resistance of Mattathias, and afterwards of Judas, did not 
for a long time free the nation. It is very likely that some should 
have joined the company of Judas for the sake of betraying them : 
see one instance, 2 Mace. xiii. 21. 

Ver. 35 : "And some of them of understanding shall fall to try them, 
and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end ; because 
it is yet for a time appointed." 

* Interpreted by Bishop Newton concerning the persecution of the 
Christians by the Roman magistrates. 



296 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

Eleazar and other supporters of the law died soon after the out- 
break of the insurrection. 

Dan. xi. 36 : "And the king shall do according to his will ; and he shall 
exalt himself.* and magnify himself above eveiy god, and shall speak mar- 
vellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation 
be accomplished : for that that is determined shall be done." 

1 Mace. i. 21 : " He entered proudly into the sanctuary." 2 Mace. 
v. 16 — 20: "And taking the holy vessels with polluted hands, 
and with profane hands pulling down the things that were dedi- 
cated by other kings to the glory and honour of the place, he gave 
them away. And so haughty was Antiochus in mind, that he con- 
sidered not that the Lord was angry for awhile for the sins of them 
that dwelt in the city .... And as the place was forsaken in the 
wrath of the Almighty, so again the great Lord being reconciled, 
it was set up with all glory." 

Ver. 37 : " Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire 
of women, nor regard any god : for he shall magnify himself above all." 

The motive of Antiochus in this great persecution will not really 
be to spread the worship of his fathers, but to gratify his own 
vanity. Conceit will be the chief feature of his character. "And 
thus he that a little afore thought he might command the waves 
of the sea (so proud was he beyond the condition of man) and 
weigh the high mountains in a balance, was now cast on the 
ground." — 2 Mace. ix. 8. 

Ver. 38 : " But in his estate shall he honour the god of forces : (Mahuzzim, 
or gods protectors :f) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour 
with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things." 

Antiochus commanded the temple at Jerusalem to be called the 
temple of Jupiter 01ympius,| and the one at Gerizim, the temple 
of Jupiter the protector of strangers, or Xenius. 



* St. Paul appears to quote this passage when speaking of the man of 
sin : 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. Bishop Newton explains it of the anti-christian 
power which began in the Roman emperors, and continued in the popes. — 
Diss. xvii. part 2. 

f According to Bishop Newton, the saints and angels worshipped by the 
Greek and Latin churches. 

\ Baalsemen summus Phcenicum deus, quern Gragci appellant Ata 
OXvfnriov, quasi translate) nomine. Id verum esse apparet ex Dii historia 
Phceni, ubi tov OXv^iriov Aioq to iepov Tyi'i dicitur. Item ex Philone Byblio 
in versione Sanchoniathonis, " hunc enim solum Demn existimabant cceli 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 297 

Dan. xi. 39 : " Thus shall he do inthe most strongholds with a strange god, 
whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory : and he shall cause 
them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain." 

1 Mace. ii. 15 : " The king's officers, such as compelled the 
people to revolt, came into the city Modin, to make them sacri- 
fice." iii. 45 : " The sanctuary also was trodden down, and aliens 
kept the strong hold." iii. 32 — 36 : " So he left Lysias .... 
that he should place strangers in all their (the Jews') quarters, 
and divide their land by lot." 

Ver. 40 : " And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at 
him : and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, 
with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships ; and he shall enter 
into the countries, and shall overflow, and pass over. 41 : He shall enter 
also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown : but 
these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab, and the chief of 
the children of Amnion. 42 : He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the 
countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 : But he shall have 
power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious 
things of Egypt : and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps." 

Here is a difficulty ; because we have no account of any further 
expedition of Antiochus into Egypt. Porphyry, indeed, said that 
he invaded Egypt again in the last year of his reign, and is not 
contradicted by his opponent Jerome ; but he is not supported by 
any histories extant of Antiochus. The description, however, 
agrees very well with the conquests in Egypt recorded in Mac- 
cabees. We must suppose, either that the writer of the prophecy 
has, by a slip of memory, misplaced these transactions in 
Egypt, which it was very easy to do even for one living near the 
times, since Antiochus made several expeditions into Egypt during 
his oppressions of the Jews ; or, that the historians have not 
accurately distinguished the dates of the expeditions. It is clear 
that the author of the first book of Maccabees only intended to 
allude briefly, and once for all, to the conquests in Egypt ; and 
the author of the second book seems hardly more careful on this 
point. The difficulty, however, does not seem to be sufficient to 
invalidate the supposition that the king of the north is still 
Antiochus.* 



dominum, Beelsemen eum appellantes, qui est Phcenicibus Saturnus, Jupiter 
vero Grascis." Recte Macedonibus ignotum, quia neque nomine isto 
Beelsemen, neque eo habitu et potestate quisquam erat in Graecis Deus. — 
Grot. Annot. 

* According to Bishop Newton, the king of the north means the Turks, 
and the king of the south the Saracens. — Diss. xvii. part 2. 



298 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

Dan. xi. 44 : " But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall 
trouble him ; therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and 
utterly to make away with many." 

The Parthians in the east, and Armenia in the north, revolted ; 
Antiochus proceeded with a large army to subdue them.* 

Ver. 45 : "And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palaces (aphedno) 
between the seas in the glorious holy mountain : yet he shall come to his 
end, and none shall help him." 

According to Theodotion, " He shall fix his tent in Aphedano, 
between the seas:" which agrees with the versions of Porphyry, 
Jerome, Houbigant, &c. The 2nd book of Maccabees says that 
Antiochus died of a disease in the mountains, when journeying 
from Ecbatana. According to Polybius, he was forced to put in 
at a town called Tabse, lying in the mountains of Paratsecene, in 
the confines of Persia and Babylonia. Though several particu- 
lars remain thus unexplained, the verse applies in the main to 
Antiochus. 

Dan. xii. 1 : "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince 
which standeth for the children of thy people : and there shall be a time of 
trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time : 
and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found 
written in the book." 

The protection of Michael, the tutelary angel of Israel, will be 
seen in the deliverance effected by Judas Maccaba?us. But even 
after the death of Epiphanes, the Jews will be for several years 
miserably harrassed before their liberty be fully established. 

2 Mace. x. 10: " Now will we declare the acts of Antiochus 
Eupator, who was the son of this wicked man (Epiphanes), gather- 
ing briefly the calamities of the wars." 1 Mace. ix. 27 : " So was 
there great affliction in Israel, the like whereof was not since the 
time that a prophet was not seen amongst them." 

Ver. 2 : "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall 
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 

3 : And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; 
and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever." 

In all ages some men have been willing to believe the end of the 
world and the resurrection at hand. The writer of this prophecy 
ventures to predict that the deliverance of his nation will be fol- 
lowed by a resurrection of the dead. He thereby endeavours to 



* Prid. Connect., pt. ii. book 3. 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 299 

console the friends of those Jews who had died faithful to the law, 
and to alarm the apostates. The resurrection of the dead is thus 
spoken of, 2 Mace. xii. 43 — 45 : " Judas sent to Jerusalem to offer 
a sin offering, doing therein very well and honestly, in that he was 
mindful of the resurrection (for if he had not hoped that they that 
were slain should have risen again, it had been superfluous and 
vain to pray for the dead) ; and also in that he perceived that there 
was great favour laid up for those that died godly. (It was an 
holy and good thought.)" 

Dan. xii. 4 : " But thou, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, 
even to the time of the end : many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall 
be increased. 5 : Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the 
one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the 
bank of the river. 6 : And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was 
upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these won- 
ders ? 7 : And I heard the man which was clothed in linen, which was upon 
the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand, and his left hand 
unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever, that it shall be for a 
time, times, and a half (or part) ; and when he shall have accomplished to 
scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." 

Commentators agree that a time means a year, and therefore 
that a time, times, and a half, are three years and a half. Counting 
from the setting up of the idol altar, 25th Casleu, 145, to the 
cleansing of the sanctuary, there were exactly three years. Antio- 
chus died soon after ; hut we have not the exact date of his death. 
The additional half year would therefore seem to be sufficient to 
reach to the end, which was supposed to be approaching. 

Ver. 8 : "And I heard, but I understood not : then said I, O my Lord, 
what shall be the end of these things ? 9 : And he said, Go thy way, Daniel : 
for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 : Many 
shall be purified, and made white, and tried ; but the wicked shall do 
wickedly : and none of the wicked shall understand ; but the wise shall 
understand." 

2 Mace. vi. 12 : " Now I beseech those that read this book, that 
they be not discouraged for these calamities ; but that they judge 
these punishments not to be for destruction, but for a chastening 
of our nation." 

Ver. 11 : "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, 
and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand 
two hundred and ninety days." 

This is nearly a repetition of the seventh verse ; for 1290 days 



300 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

are 3 years and 195 days.* It seems likely that these 1290 days 
are calculated to the death of Antiochus, since the next verse 
mentions 45 additional days, which appear to be intended to reach 
to the " end of the wonders." The phrase time, times, and a half 
(or part), might very well be used to express 1335 days, or 3 years 
and 240 days. 

Dan. xii. 12 : " Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three 
hundred and five and thirty days." 

Since we have not the exact dates, it is impossible to ascertain 
whether the writer alludes to a real occurrence. It might be one 
of the battles with the generals of Antiochus Eupator, or the 
treaty of peace concluded with the Jews by Eupator, or some other 
event considered of great magnitude at the time, and soon after- 
wards forgotten. But the most obvious meaning is, that the 1335 
days are to reach to the end of the wonders and the resurrection. 
As this, however, did not happen within that time, the writer, who 
has been very correct in his other predictions, is wrong here ; and, 
therefore, he was some one writing within forty-five days from the 
death of Antiochus Epiphanes. 



And thus we have, upon the whole, a very intelligible and simple 
explanation of these parts of Daniel, without being obliged to 
suppose with Bishop Newton that days mean years ; to metamor- 
phose the king of the north successively into the Bomans, the 
Pope, and the Turks ; to run through the history of the world in 
search of events to fit the prophecy ; and, at last, to give the 
matter up by confessing that much of it remains yet to be fulfilled.f 



* The Jews used the lunar year of twelve lunar months, of twenty-nine 
days and a half each, and added the intercalary days every two or three 
years. But in reckoning many years together, they appear to have counted 
by solar years of 365 days each. See Sir I. Newton on the Prophecies ; 
Michaelis on Seventy Weeks, pp. 199, 203. According to Africanus, the 
Jews added three intercalary months at the end of every eight years. — 
Hieron. in Dan. ix. 

•(•The one thousand three hundred and thirty -five days form one of the 
most difficult problems ; because, even if we agree to call them years, there 
was no remarkable event 1335 years after the setting up of the abomination 
or idol altar by Antiochus, to match with ver. 12. The bishop, therefore, 
conjectures that this abomination means here not what it did before, but 
the imposture of Mahomet, which he began to forge in his cave, A.D. 606 ; 
thus the end of the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five years would 
fall in with A.D. 1941, and commentators would be relieved of this difficulty 
for several generations at least. — See Diss. xvii. p. 362. 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 301 

The bishop's task was a difficult one, because he considered that 
the prophecy must be explained so as to save the infallibility of 
the writers of the New Testament ; whereas, if we disregard their 
version of it, and compare it carefully with the history of the times 
of Antiochus, the matter becomes tolerably easy. The abolition 
of the Jews' ancient worship, and its restoration by Judas Macca- 
bseus, were among the most impressive and romantic events in 
history ; and it is not surprising that at such a time men's imagi- 
nations should have been much excited, and that mystical and 
prophetical writings should have been published.* Those events, 
however, gradually retreated out of sight, and the common people 
among the Jews, who read very little history, applied the writing 
as they pleased. Thus Matthew applied the " abomination of 
desolation" to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans ; and 
the writer of the Revelations, following him, ventured a prophecy 
that " the holy city would be trodden under foot by the Gentiles 
forty and two months," that is, three years and a half. Rev. xi. 2. 
But history proves him to be wrong in thus limiting the time, 
whether the days be considered as days or years ; whereupon 
Bishop Newton conjectures, that the forty -two months, or one 
thousand two hundred and sixty days, or one thousand two hun- 
dred and sixty years, must be calculated from the beginning of the 
Reformation, and that the treading of the holy city under foot 
means the tyranny over the church of Christ by the church of 
Rome, that is, " Christians only in name, but Gentiles in worship 
and practice." Diss. xxiv. ch. 11. 



Let us now examine another celebrated part of The vision 
Daniel, the vision of the four beasts in the seventh ^ tbe four 



chapter, in which Sir Isaac Newton and other Christian 
commentators thought that they found a description of the Roman 
empire, of its division by the barbarous nations, of the pope, and 
of the kingdom of Christ. If it could be shown that the writing 
does clearly describe these things, we must admit it to be a real 
prophecy ; but, in fact, it does not bear more than a casual and 
imperfect resemblance to them ;f whilst, on the contrary, it applies 

* "The Jews, after their return from the captivity to the time of our 
Saviour, were much given to religious romances." — Prideaux Connect. Part 
II. book i. 

f The reader is referred to Sir Isaac Newton on the Prophecies, and 
Bishop Newton's XlVth Diss. 



302 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

very well to the events up to the time of Antiochus. The chief 
cause of the embarrassment of all the commentators appears to be 
their following Josephus in interpreting the fourth beast of the 
Koman empire. But Josephus himself might err in explaining 
an obscure writing at least two hundred years old, and the internal 
evidence must weigh more strongly with us than his opinion ; 
especially as he does not seem, from his manner of writing, to have 
devoted much study to the question. See Antiq. x. xi. 7.* 

I venture to give a new explanation of it, viz. that the second 
beast means the kingdom of Media, the third Persia, and the 
fourth Macedonia. The difficulties which encumber Grotius's ex- 
planation of the fourth beast will then vanish, and nearly the whole 
chapter become clear, and in agreement with the following part of 
the book.f 

Dan. vii. 3 : "And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one 
from another. 4 : And the first was like a lion, and had eagles' wings ; and 
I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the 
earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given 
to it." 

All agree that this is Babylon, being parallel to the golden head 
of the image, ch. ii. 



Ver. 5 : "And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it] 
up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the 
teeth of it ; and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh." 

The kingdom of Media, and not that of the Medes and Persians 
united, as is commonly interpreted. This agrees with the corre- 
sponding place in the vision of the image, where the second 
kingdom is said to be inferior to the first, iii. 39, which was true 
of Media, but not of Persia, which surpassed Babylon in extent 
and power. The kingdom of Media, from its short duration, and 
from its being eclipsed by Persia, was lost sight of in later times ; 
but older authors show that it was looked upon as a distinct and 
powerful kingdom before the Persians came into notice. The 
Jewish prophets generally speak of Babylon as conquered by 
Media. Jer. Ii. 2 : " The Lord hath raised up the spirit of the 
kings of the Medes ; for his device is against Babylon to destroy 

* The concluding remark of Josephus betrays a mixture of carelessness 
with its candour, which could hardly proceed from an earnest critic : " Now, 
as to myself, I have so described these matters as I have found them and 
read them ; but if any one is inclined to another opinion about them, let 
him enjoy his different sentiments without any blame from me." 

•f Since the first edition of this volume was written, I have learned that 
the above interpretation has been given in several German works. 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 803 

it." Ver. 28 : " Prepare against her the nations with the kings 
of the Medes." Jer 1. 41, 42 : " Behold a people shall come from 
the north," (this must be Media, and not Persia or Elam, which 
was east of Babylon,) " and a great nation, and many kings shall 
be raised up from the coasts of the earth. They shall hold the 
bow and the lance : they are cruel, and will not shew mercy .... 
against thee, Babylon." Isaiah xiii. 17, 18 : " Behold, I will 
stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver, and 
as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall 
dash the young men to pieces, and they shall have no pity on the 
fruit of the womb : their eye shall not spare children." This 
agrees with the directions given to the bear — " Arise, devour much 
flesh." The Medes revolted from the Assyrians under Arbaces, 
and formed, by their side, an increasing empire. Under Phraortes 
and Cyaxares, they conquered Persia proper, the Assyrian king- 
dom of Nineveh, and all Asia to the east of the Halys. (He- 
rodotus, sect, vii.) These are, perhaps, the three ribs in the beast's 
mouth. And, according to Daniel, v. 31, Darius the Median took 
the kingdom of Belshazzar, the remaining Assyrian kingdom of 
Babylon. Herodotus plainly considered the Median and Persian 
empires as separate and distinct ; for he says, " Thus ended the 
reign of Astyages, and the Medes bowed beneath the Persians, 
after having ruled Asia beyond the river Halys one hundred and 
twenty-eight years . . . The Persians under Cyrus, by thus shaking 
off the yoke of Astyages and the Medes, became the masters from 
that time forward of Asia." (Sect, viii.) The two nations were, 
however, often spoken of together in later times, both from their 
resemblance, and because each, during its ascendancy, included the 
other. 

Ver. 6 : " After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had 
upon the back of it four wings of a fowl ; the beast had also four heads, 
and dominion was given to it." 

The kingdom of Persia, and not that of Macedonia, as usually 
supposed. The four wings are perhaps the kingdoms of Media, 
Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt, which were consolidated into the 
Persian empire. The four heads agree with the four kings of 
Persia, mentioned chap. xi. 2. But why did the writer notice only 
four of the Persian kings ? Since in the 11th chapter he plainly 
passes at once from Xerxes to Alexander the Great, one might 
suppose that he was imperfectly acquainted with the Persian his- 
tory, or had forgotten it, which was very likely to be the case with 



304 OS THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

a Jew about the year 164 B. C. ; for the Jews had not then begun 
generally to study the Greek literature, from which our Persian 
history is chiefly collected. Up to that time, the Jews had at- 
tended very little to the affairs of other nations, and only noticed 
them incidentally as connected with their own. A regular history 
of Persia being, therefore, wanting in the Jewish language, a Jew 
living two hundred years later than Alexander might easily commit 
even the gross mistake of placing him immediately after Xerxes.* 

Ver. 7 : "After this, I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, 
dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly ; and it had great iron teeth ; 
and it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet 
of it, and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it ; and it had 
ten horns," explained thus ver. 23 : " The fourth beast shall be the fourth 
kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall 
devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces." 
Ver. 7 : "And it had ten horns," explained in ver. 24 : "And the ten horns 
out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise." 

The kingdom of Macedonia, or of the Greeks. Alexander is 
thus described, chap. xi. 3 : "And a mighty king shall stand up, 
and shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will." 
And thus, chap. viii. 7 : "And there was no power in the ram to 
stand before him, but he cast him down on the ground, and stamped 
upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his 
hand." And thus, 1 Mace. ii. : " He reigned the first over Greece, 
and made many wars, and won many strong holds, and slew the 
kings of the earth, and went through to the ends of the earth, and 
took spoils of many nations, insomuch that the earth was quiet 
before him." 

1 Mace. i. 8, 9 : "And his servants bare rule, every one in his 
place, and after his death they all put crowns upon themselves ; 
so did their sons after them many years, and evils were multiplied 
in the earth." 

Within a year after the death or Alexander the following gene- 
rals obtained shares of his dominions, — Lysimachus, Antipater, 
Craterus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Cassander, Menander, Leonatus, 



* Since writing the above, I have found the following passage in Michaelis, 
on the Seventy Weeks, p. 112 : " The ignorance of the Jews concerning the 
Persian chronology was so great, that they only allowed fifty -four years and 
four kings to the whole Persian dynasty ; nor did the inferior Rabbis only 
make this mistake, but even the most eminent." This remark appears to 
be made by Michaelis, without any reference to the chapter which is under 
consideration. 



ON THE PEOPHECIBS OF DANIEL. 305 

Neoptolemus, Eunienes, Laornedon, Atropates, Perdiccas, and 
others of less note ; but they were incessantly displacing each 
other, so that, at some period or other, the number of principalities 
may have been exactly ten, or the writer may have counted only 
the chief among them. But after a time, the whole were consoli- 
dated into four great monarchies ; hence the writer might very 
naturally give to the beast ten horns here, and four in another 
place, chap. viii. 8 ; especially as he takes care to distinguish the 
latter as " notable horns." But it is possible that he counted the 
successive rulers of Syria up to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, 
viz. Laomedon, Ptolemy,* Antigonus, Seleucus Nicator, Anti- 
ochus Soter, Antiochus Theos, Seleucus Callinicus, Seleucus 
Ceraunus, Antiochus the Great, and Seleucus Philopator. 

Ver. 8 : " I considered the horns, and behold there came up among them 
another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked 
up by the roots ; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, 
and a mouth speaking great things." Explained ver. 24 : " And another 
shall rise after them (the ten kings), and he shall be diverse from the first, 
and he shall subdue three kings." 

Here we have a proof that we have been following very nearly 
the right road, by arriving in sight of our old acquaintance, the 
little horn of chap. viii. and xi., which has been shown clearly to 
be Antiochus Epiphanes. The description of him here corresponds 
exactly with that in the above chapters, in many places even word 
for word. The three horns plucked up seem to correspond with 
" it waxed exceeding great toward the south, and the east, and the 
pleasant land," viii. 9. 

Ver. 25 : "And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and 
shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and 
laws ; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the 
dividing of time." 

In chap. xi. 36, Antiochus is to " speak marvellous things 
against the God of gods." In 2 Mace. vi. 1, he endeavoured "to 
compel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers." And 



* An objection of some weight is, that the first two were not crowned. 
But the opinion of the Jews appears to have been, that the servants of Alex- 
ander became kings immediately after his death, and even that he divided 
his kingdom amongst them whilst alive. —1 Mace. i. 6. And it is with the 
Jewish impression of history, rather than with true history, that we have to 
deal in this case. 

TJ 



306 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 



in Dan. xii. 7, his time was to be " a time, times, and a half." 
This is proof as clear as we could wish that the little horn is the 
same personage in all the three chapters, vii. viii. xi. 

Ver. 9 : " I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of 
days did sit." ... 11 : "I beheld, then, because of the voice of the great 
words which the horn spake : I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his 
body destroyed, and given to the burning flame." 

The writer here arrives at his own times, and therefore his 
prophecy no longer agrees with history. He begins to indulge his 
imagination, and, as in chap, xii., prophesies a general judgment 
as soon to come. 

Ver. 12 : " As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion 
taken away ; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time." 

The author could not tell how long the other kingdoms of 
Alexander's successors would remain after the death of Antiochus, 
and therefore speaks of their fate in a vague and mysterious 
manner. 

Ver. 13 : "I saw in the night visions ; and behold, one like the Son of 
man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and 
they brought him near before him. 14 : And there was given him dominion 
and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should 
serve him." Explained ver. 27 : "And the kingdom, and dominion, and the 
greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the 
people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting 
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." 

The Gentile nations had been represented by beasts and horns 
of beasts. The author compliments his own nation, the people of 
God, with a more dignified representative, viz. " one like the Son 
of man," and his patriotism gives them an universal dominion. 

In verse 25, the saints of the Most High are clearly the Jewish 
people ; therefore the universal dominion is plainly prophesied of 
them as a nation, and not of any one individual. But it seems 
probable that many of the Jews in after-times, either by mistake 
or by way of accommodation, applied the term Son of man to the 
expected Messiah ; and hence the adoption of that title by Jesus.* 

* Rabbi Saadias, A.D. 927, said, in commenting on this place, " Like the 
Son of man : this is Messiah our righteousness." — See Lightfoot on Acts vii. 
56. From John xii. 34, it would not appear that the Jews generally applied 
the term thus about the time of Christ. The use of the term in Ezekiel 
shows that originally it had no peculiar relation to the Messiah. 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 307 

It would be tedious to examine the vision of the The vision 
great image, ch. ii., in this minute manner. The sense of the 
is the same as that of the vision of the beasts. The 
head of gold is Babylon ; the breast and arms of silver, Media ; 
the belly and thighs (or sides) of brass, Persia ; the legs of iron, 
Macedonia ; the toes, part of iron and part of clay, Alexander's 
successors ; and the stone which filled the whole earth, the future 
kingdom of God's people, the Jews. 

The different pretended prophecies in Daniel thus harmonize ; 
and all establish the same conclusions, viz. that the author wrote 
about the time of the death of Antiochus ; that his prophecies up 
to that time are history, and afterwards visionary speculations. 

That the Jewish priests and leaders should have invented pro- 
phecies and visions to encourage the nation during the difficult 
times of the Maccabees, is probable enough in itself. We have, 
however, one instance given historically, 2 Mace. xv. Judas, to 
encourage his men before the battle of Capkarsalama, told them a 
dream, " worthy to be believed, as if it had been so indeed," says 
the writer ; and the dream was, that the high priest Onias, and the 
prophet Jeremiah, had appeared to him, and that the latter had 
given him a holy sword. " Thus being well comforted with the 
words of Judas, which were very good and able to stir them up to 
valour, and to encourage the hearts of the young men, they deter- 
mined courageously to set upon them," &c. If Judas could invent 
a vision concerning Onias and Jeremiah, he, or some one else in 
his time, could as easily invent prophecies and visions of Daniel. 

There remains to be considered the prophecy of the The seventy 
seventy weeks, Dan. ix., which has been called by Sir weeks - 
I. Newton the foundation of Christianity. Daniel is represented as 
praying in the first year of Darius the Mede, which was the last 
of the captivity, B.C. 538. Gabriel tells him, ver 24, that 

" Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city 
to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make recon- 
ciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal 
up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy." 

And he goes on to divide these seventy weeks as follows : 

Ver. 25 : From the commandment to build again Jerusalem unto 
the Messiah the Prince (Sept. unto the anointed ruler) shall be seven 
weeks 7 

"And threescore and two weeks the street shall be built again, and 
the wall, even in troublous times." 62 



308 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 



Ver. 26 : "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah he exit 
off, but not for himself (or Messiah shall cut them off,* and they shall 
be no more his people) : and the people of the prince that shall come 
shall destroy the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood, 
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." Ver. 27 : 
"And he shall confirm the covenant (or a covenant) with many for one 
week ; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the 
oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall 
make it desolate, (or, upon the battlements shall be the idols of the 
desolator,) even until the consummation, and that determined shall be 
poured upon the desolate." 1 

70 

It is generally supposed that a week means a week of years, or 
seven years ; for the Jews counted their years as well as days by 
sevens, the seventh being the sabbatic year. Levit. xxvi. 8. — The 
latter part of the time evidently applies to Antiochus, in whose 
days many Israelites " made a covenant with the heathen," by 
means of a licence obtained from the king, 1 Mace. i. 11 — 15. 
He occupied Jerusalem from the year 143 Seleucidae, or of the 
kingdom of the Greeks, to 149 (B.C. 170—164), which might be 
about seven years, or a week of years ; in the midst of which time, 
or towards the end of 145 (B.C. 168J, the sanctuary was laid 
waste, " the abomination of desolation set upon the altar, and idol 
altars builded on every side," ver. 54. Compare these two verses 
with ver. 30 — 35, Dan. xi., which have been shown to apply to 
Antiochus. It appears also, from ch. xii., that the writer expected 
a great deliverance and a resurrection to come soon after the death 
of Antiochus, which agrees with the bringing in of everlasting 
righteousness in ver. 24 ; consequently the death of Antiochus is 
about the date to which the seventy weeks extend. The decree of 
Cyrus to rebuild the temple, which was considered to apply also 
to the city, (compare Ezra i. with 1 Esdras iv. 63,) was given 
B.C. 536, from which to the death of Antiochus we have 372 
years. Since the writer calls this interval 70 weeks, or 490 years, 
we must conclude that he used a different chronology from ours. 

What he meant by the Messiah or anointed prince is difficult to 
explain, since there was no person in Jewish history, from Cyrus 
to Antiochus, to whom the description applies. It seems probable 
that he meant an allegorical representative of the Jewish nation, 

* Exscindetur vel exscindet Messias, the passive and active future in 
Hebrew being the same. — Mich, on Seventy Weeks, p. 137. 



OST THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 309 

in the same way as he speaks in the next chapter of the prince of 
Persia and the prince of Grecia ; the term Messiah, or anointed, 
being applied to the prince of the Jews, to signify his superior 
holiness.* As the coming of the prince of Grecia, x. 30, appears 
to signify the beginning of the sovereignty of the Macedonians, 
so the coming of the anointed ruler, or of the rule of the anointed 
(eu>£ xP LaT0V riyovfuvov), and his being cut off,f may signify the poli- 
tical regeneration of the Jewish nation under Nehemiah till its 
apparent extinction by Antiochus. During that interval Jerusalem 
was rebuilt, but the times were troublous. It is true, that seven 
weeks, or forty-nine years, from B.C. 536, bring us to B.C. 487, 
which year was not distinguished by any remarkable event, being 
twenty years before the return under Ezra. But here again we 
must be content to remain in ignorance, from our not knowing the 
chronology used by the author. 

It has been thought by some that the commandment which went 
forth to restore and build Jerusalem, refers to the divine decree by 
the mouth of Jeremiah, B. C. 606, promising a return of the Jews 
after seventy years. Jer. xxix. 10 ; xxv. 12 ; xxvii. 12. Four 
hundred and ninety years from that date bring us to B. C. 116, as 
the time predicted for bringing in everlasting righteousness and 
anointing the Most Holy. It is remarkable that this is seven 
weeks, i. e. forty-eight to forty-nine years, from the death of An- 
tiochus. This coincidence, however, does not enable us to solve 
the prophecy, for this latter subdivision of the time is there 
placed first ; and the remaining subdivisions remain still unex- 
plained. But there are strong reasons for interpreting the com- 
mandment only of the decree in the first year of Cyrus. This, 
although an edict of an heathen prince, was considered by the 
Jews as divinely appointed to fulfil the words of Jeremiah ; \ it 
formed one of the most conspicuous points in the scriptural history ; 
it is evident that the writer of Daniel has the history in Chronicles 
and Ezra fully present to his recollection ; he says that Daniel 
prayed in the first year of Darius the Mede, which, although 
usually placed about B. C. 538, he seems to consider as the expi- 
ration of the seventy years, (see ver. 19,) and, consequently, cotein- 

* Schoettgen (de Messia, cap. i. 26) quotes several works to show that it 
was not unheard of among the Jews to consider Michael the Messiah. This 
would make the verse in question harmonize with x. 21. 

f Theodotion's version, which is that inserted in the modern copies of the 
Septuagint, gives e£o\o9pn>Qr](TeTai xpi^fia, the anointing shall perish. 

% See end of Chronicles and beginning of Ezra. 



310 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

porary with the decree of Cyrus, B. C. 536, whilst, on the other 
hand, the promise of Jeremiah, of a future restorer, could not with 
so much exactness be called a going forth of the commandment or 
word to restore and build Jerusalem. 

It is not worth while to drag the reader through the endless 
commentaries on this prophecy : its difficulty is multiplied by the 
numerous readings both of the words and numbers which the dif- 
ferent versions supply. Michaelis made a laborious investigation 
of these ; and by taking three successive periods of seventy weeks 
of years, seventy single years, and sixty-two years, he makes the 
desolation coincide with the beginning of the Jewish war, A. D. 66. 
But he admits that, in order to make even this explanation cohere, 
he was obliged to select several unusual readings, depending each 
on isolated manuscripts, and to adopt the somewhat improbable 
hypothesis that the years were lunar instead of solar years.* He 
offers his explanation also as a very doubtful one.f 

The point chiefly interesting to us is, whether the prophecy 
agrees with the time of Jesus Christ. 

Years. 

Now, from the decree of Cyrus b.c 536 

Deduct 7 weeks or 49 years, and we are not near 
to Jesus Christ ; take the 7 weeks and 62 weeks 
together, as the Septuagint does, and deduct 69 
weeks, or 483 

we have b. c. 53 

a year which has no relation to Jesus Christ. 

Sir Isaac Newton dates the commandment at Ezra's return 
with a body of Jews in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, or 
4257 of the Julian period, = b. c. 457 ; add the whole 
490 years, and we have 

4747 or a. d. 34, when (or in a. d. 33) Christ was crucified. 

But, to say nothing of the incorrectness of representing this as 
the end of the Jewish transgressions, (see conduct of the Zealots 
towards the law and temple,) it appears that this great commen- 

* "It seems more likely at first sight that solar years are predicted. 
Accordingly, I tried solar years with all the readings ; but comparing the 
prophecy with history, I found no notable event coinciding with those 
years." — Michaelis on the Seventy Weeks, p. 203. 

f " Jam ergo, si lubet, accipe a me, non versionem, sed dubitationes de 
Danielis vaticinio." — Ibid., p. 5. 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 311 

tator could only succeed to this extent in fitting in the whole 490 
years, at the expense of a complete failure in disposing of the 
subdivisions ; for he makes verse 25 refer to a rebuilding yet to 
come, and a second coming of Christ. 

Others follow Africanus in dating from the twentieth year of 
Artaxerxes, when Nehemiah came to Jerusalem . . . b.c. 445 
70 weeks, or 490 years, supposing them lunar years, 
are equal to 475 solar years 475 

a.d. 30 
which is within a few years of the common date of Christ's death. 

But in these explanations it is obvious that the date of the 
decree is selected arbitrarily, in order to make the 70 weeks, or 69 
weeks, fall in with Christ's death. For it has been shown that it 
is unnatural to suppose that any other decree could be meant than 
that of Cyrus, which was given at the time when Daniel is said to 
be praying. If we take the date of the word given to Jeremiah 
b.c. 606, the attempt to accommodate the time to Jesus Christ 
will be baffled still more completely. 

The text concerning the cutting off of the Messiah is not quoted 
by the apostles, which would lead, us to suppose that our common 
reading does not give the sense received in their time. But even 
if it were the true reading, it might be applied to any other pre- 
tender to the Messiahship who was put to death, as well as to 
Jesus. And this is the only coincidence worth noticing. For 
Jerusalem was taken and profaned many times ; and the descrip- 
tion of the actions of Antiochus must naturally apply in part to 
those of the Romans. But the desolation which they made under 
Titus was not immediately after the cutting off of Jesus Christ, 
but thirty-seven years later. 



The strong internal evidence that the prophetic parts of Daniel 
were written about the time of Antiochus is not counterbalanced 
by any external evidence, as may be seen in the review of the 
arguments on this point in the fourteenth chapter of Bishop 
Newton's Dissertations. 

Although we be convinced by this examination of the book of 
Daniel, that it contains no prophecies concerning Jesus Christ, we 
can at the same time perceive how the disciples were led to draw 
from it, especially after the fall of Jerusalem, a strong confirma- 
tion of his claims. They knew little or nothing concerning 



312 



ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 



Antiochus, and therefore parts of the book seemed to point to the 
events of their own day, which did in reality somewhat resemble 
those in the time of Antiochns. Moreover, Jesus himself assumed 
tbe title of Son of Man, given to the allegorical representative of 
tbe Jewish nation, in Daniel. Add to this the text which admitted 
of the sense that the Messiah was to be cut off, and we need not 
be surprised that more searching critics than the apostles should 
have considered this book as the sure word of prophecy. But to 
the reader who will take the trouble to compare one part with 
another, in the manner here pursued, it is left to determine whether 
such a conclusion does not rest upon a total perversion of the 
real meaning of the book. 



Whilst the study of the prophecies convinces us of the absurdity of con- 
sidering them as inspired predictions, it at the same time enables us to com- 
prehend the interest attached to them which supported the delusion. The 
sublime mystery of penetrating into the future is almost equalled by that 
of finding the present already foreknown in the past. The events of the 
day are raised into fulfilments of the divine decrees : an untoward catastrophe 
is softened, success is enhanced, by the proof which prophecy appears to 
bring, that all was appointed by the foreknowledge of God before the world 
began ; and the energy of the agents is heightened rather than relaxed by 
the idea that they are the instruments of destiny, final links of the mys- 
terious chain which connects remote foreknowledge and actual fulfilment. 

There are few nations whose early literature does not contain predictions 
and pretended accomplishments of predictions. But Cumae and Delphos 
lost their credit even in ancient times. The supposed Jewish oracles still 
play a conspicuous part in the religion of the day. Yet on comparing them 
closely with history, accomplishment and failure alternate to such an extent, 
that one important resemblance to their heathen kindred becomes palpable ; 
their credit can only be maintained by preserving their ambiguity. 

Egypt, for instance, which was to be "the basest of the kingdoms," Ezek. 
xxix. 15, (" and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt," xxx. 
13,) was for three centuries, under the Ptolemies, one of the principal 
monarchies of the age. Babylon which "shall never be inhabited," appar- 
ently after its capture by the Medes, "and whose time is near to come," 
Isaiah xiii. 17 — 22, was inhabited by a diminished population for 245 years, 
until the building of the neighbouring city of Seleucia, after which it de- 
cayed gradually. Ezekiel prophesies that Nebuchadnezzar shall take Tyre, 
in which he is as correct as might be expected from a cotemporary of the 
event ; but he adds " I will make thee like the top of a rock : thou shalt be 
a place to spread nets upon : thou shalt be built no more," xxvi. 14 : and 
"when I make thee a desolate city," (i.e. evidently from the connexion, on 
the capture by Nebuchadnezzar,) " I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt 
be no more ; though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, 
saith the Lord God," ver. 19 — 21. Yet new Tyre, or Tyre of the island, 
considered by Pliny a part of the old city, and which from the description 
of Ezekiel appears to have been by him also included in the general name 



ON THE PROPHECIES OP DANIEL. 313 

Tyre, continued to be a strong and considerable place long after the time of 
Alexander ; it endured several sieges during the Crusades and afterwards ; 
and has decayed gradually into an inconsiderable place. The " shalt be no 
more" of Ezekiel, repeated several times, is therefore accomplished by the 
decay of the city in the lapse of 2400 years. Bishop Newton explains for 
Ezekiel, that in this case, as in that of Babylon, the prophecy was to take 
effect, not all at once, but by degrees. Modern commentators have dis- 
covered that, for the most part, the sense of the scripture prophecies can 
only be ascertained after the event. The prophecies against Edom, Moab, 
Amnion, &c, are evidently for the most part history ; but when they reach 
into the future, limitations and exceptions are required. (See Jer. xlix. 18, 
on Edom.) The prophets delivered copious denunciations against all the 
nations and districts which annoyed the Jews. If a modern poet were to 
prophesy destruction and desolation under various figures against a dozen 
neighbouring towns or nations, who would be surprised to find after 2500 
years an equal average of fulfilment ? 

The instance most resembbng fulfilment is that of Jeremiah's prophecy, 

" Fear thou not, my servant Jacob, though I make a full end of 

all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end ot 
thee," xxx. 11. Yet this is merely a natural patriotic wish, and it has nof 
been fulfilled in the sense probably contemplated by Jeremiah ; for a full 
end has been made of the Jews, as a nation, as completely as of Babylon. 
It is certainly true that the preservation of the Jews, as a distinct race, 
leaves a possibility of the more complete fulfilment of the prophecy at a 
future time. It is connected, however, with two others which were not 
fulfilled, viz. the high degree of security which Jacob should enjoy after his 
return from the Babylonish captivity, and the raising up of another David. 

Another instance approaching to fulfilment is the spread of the Jewish 
religion or light among the Gentiles. Yet here also the prophecy was a 
natural patriotic wish, and it was very far from being exactly fulfilled 
according to the original meaning ; for the Judaism which the Gentiles 
received was very different from the Jewish law which the prophets seem 
to have had in view (Isaiah xlii. 4, 21 ; Micah iv. 2) : neither did the Gen- 
tiles come bending to receive it from Mount Zion. " For the nation and 
kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish, yea those nations shall be 
entirely wasted." Isaiah lx. 12. Instead of this the Jews perished, because 
they would not serve the Romans. 

As to the New Testament fulfilling the prophecies of the Old, — in the two 
most conspicuous features of Jewish prophecy there could not be a more 
decided failure. A triumphant successor of David was promised, and a 
carpenter's son was crucified. Zion was to be exalted, and Zion was de- 
molished. Nor were the Christian prophecies more fortunate. — The Son of 
man was to appeal- again before that generation passed away, and he has 
not yet appeared. 

The cause of failure here is not the same as when predictions of natural 
phenomena fail ; i. e. want of skill in the interpreters. No one pretends 
that a greater skill in the language of the prophecies would clear up these 
contradictions ; that the reader of the common version, on acquiring suffi- 
cient Hebrew and Greek, would see things in a greatly different light. 
Unless he admit that wide figurative interpretation, which expands indefi- 
nitely the meaning of words, he must conclude that the voice prophesying 



314 ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

through these records is different from that prophesying in nature, in as 
much as the one is always right, the other sometimes right and sometimes 
wrong. 

The JEneid contains many prophetical allusions to the affairs of Rome, 
and in the sixth book the shade of Anchises shows himself well acquainted 
with Roman History up to the time of Augustus, but attempts to foretel 
nothing beyond it. From passages of this kind the common reader would 
have inferred the time of the writer to be about or after that date. But 
suppose that Virgil had concealed his name and date, and that some reli- 
gious interest were attached to the belief in the divine inspiration of his 
writings ; it would then be taken for granted that the author lived at the 
beginning, not the end, of the prophecy, and the whole poem might by 
the allegorizing system be easily converted into a prophetical type. If the 
interpreter were a Catholic, the victories of the Trojan hero might prefigure 
the small beginnings of the Roman see on the same plains of Latium ; his 
pious abandonment of the Carthaginian queen being exactly the type of 
Papal Rome's compulsory separation by divine decree from its mistress 
Constantinople. The prediction of Anchises, " Tu regere imperio populos, 
Romane, memento," was fully verified, as Peter's pence could bear witness. 
" Ccelique meatus desciibent alii melius," Galileo proved to be true. " Debel- 
lare superbos," how exactly fulfilled in the person of the Emperor Henry 
IV., and "parcere subjectis," in the lenity shown by Pius VII. towards 
Napoleon, who was, or ought to have been, spiritually his subject ! Certainly 
a Papist, who might be inclined thus to turn Virgil to account, would find, 
less labour than has been encountered by Protestant divines, with the Book 
of Daniel, for the sake of identifying the Pope with the "man of sin." 

But it is said by Christians that many of the prophecies remain yet to be 
fulfilled. This may very probably come to appear true as events pass on, 
for the continued vicissitudes of things may naturally increase the number 
of apparent correspondences ; and there is besides this a deeper reason. 
Written prophecy itself, if embodied in the literature of a nation, becomes 
a cause of no small power, and may contain amongst its effects tendencies 
to its own fulfilment. The anticipations of ancestors, the aspirations of 
patriots, and the visions of poets, when expressed in the shape of prophecy, 
may awaken in some breasts a more ardent desire to give the response. 
Instances are on record of attempts made with a view to fulfil ancient pro- 
phecies.* And considering the permanent interest which the Hebrew 
literature has excited amongst its own and other nations, it is highly pro- 
bable that its prophecies will go on producing a concurrence of inclinations 
to witness their fulfilment, till at last, in a more closely corresponding sense 
than hitherto, " the tribes of Jacob shall be raised up, and instead of the 
thorn shall come up the fir-tree in his heritages, and the desolations of Israel 
shall be repaired, and his wastes inhabited." 



* Onias, who built the temple at Heliopolis to fulfil Isaiah xix. 19, one 
instance. The rebuilding of the temple by Cyrus to fulfil the Jewish pro- 
phecies would be another ; but the historical truth of Josephus in this 
account may be doubted. A kindred case is that of Columbus, who 
"believed his great discoveries announced in the Apocalypse and Isaiah, and 
identified the mines of Hispaniola with the golden quarries which furnished 
materials to Solomon." — Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella, vol. iii. p. 27. 



CHAPTER XV. 

WHETHER JESUS FORETOLD HIS OWN DEATH AND 

RESURRECTION. 

Matthew says, xvi. 21, " From that time forth," (viz. soon after 
Herod sought to apprehend Jesus,) " began Jesus to show unto 
his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer 
many things of the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be 
killed, and be raised again the third day." And again, xx. 17, 
" And Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart 
in the way, and said unto them, Behold we go up to Jerusalem ; 
and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests, and 
unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall 
deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify 
him : and the third day he shall rise again." Similar predictions 
occur, Matt. xvi. 24, xvii. 22, xxvi. 2, xxvi. 32. " But after I am 
risen again, I will go before you into Galilee." Mark viii. 31. 
ix. 9, 31, x. 32, xiv. 28. Luke ix. 22, 44, xiii. 33, xviii. 31, 
John vii. 8, viii. 28, &c. 

This was speaking so plainly that we cannot imagine how the 
disciples could have misunderstood him. However firm might 
have been their first expectation of a temporal Messiah, they must 
have been strangely inattentive not to be prepared for things of 
which they had been warned so often and so clearly. As the his- 
tory stands, they seem to have treated the admonitions of Jesus on 
such interesting points with a carelessness almost irreverent. Luke 
says, ix. 45, " They understood not this saying, and it was hid 
from them." But this may be merely his own reflection, and the 
explanation which he chose to suggest in order to account for the 
strangeness of the disciples' conduct. The explanation, however, 
is by no means satisfactory, since the language attributed to Jesus 
is very intelligible. 

Immediately after the supposed confidential prediction of his 
sufferings to the twelve, Matt. xx. 20, two of these very twelve 
come to ask for seats on the right and left of his throne. They 
all frequently dispute which shall be the greatest. They seem full 
of hope and expectation until they reach Jerusalem. They think 
more of their twelve thrones over the twelve tribes of Israel than 



316 WHETHER JESUS FORETOLD 

of death and suffering. When nigh to Jerusalem, they expect the 
kingdom of God to appear immediately ; and when, at last, Jesus 
is taken and put to death, exactly according to the supposed pre- 
dictions, they all seem taken by surprise, and forsake him. Cleopas 
is represented as saying, " The chief priests and our rulers have 
crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should 
have redeemed Israel ;" showing clearly surprise and disappoint- 
ment at his death, which seemed to have ended the matter. They 
were so far from expecting him to rise again, that most of them 
were with difficulty induced to believe it, even when they were told 
that he was risen. And John himself unconsciously gives a final 
contradiction to these stories of predictions, by saying of the dis- 
ciples who came to the sepulchre, xx. 9, "For as yet they kneiv not 
the Scriptures, that he must rise again from the dead." Can it be 
believed that any of the disciples, much less the whole body of 
them, would have quite forgotten such a thing, if it had really been 
foretold to them so clearly and so often ? 

This discrepancy between the disciples' conduct and the sup- 
posed predictions is so palpable, that fiction appears manifestly in 
one or the other. And it is the more natural to infer it in the 
latter ; for the disciples loved to represent every action of Jesus 
as the fulfilment of prophecy, and especially his death, by which 
means the greatest cause of scandal was converted into an evidence 
in his favour. As he himself also bore the character of a prophet, 
nothing could appear more for his honour and dignity than to pre- 
dict whatever was remarkable in his own career ; for thus reverses 
and death, instead of baffling him, appeared as ministers to the 
fulfilment of his own predictions.* 

The charm of marvellousness which is thrown into a narrative 
by linking events with predictions, induced Herodotus, Josephus, 
and other historians prone to embellish, to indulge largely in this 
kind of poetical fiction. The writers of the four Gospels had a 
stronger temptation to put their own historical knowledge into the 
mouth of Jesus in the shape of prophecy ; and accordingly nume- 
rous events in the history of Jesus are preceded by a closely 
agreeing pi'ediction ; for instance, the denial by Peter, the betrayal 
by Judas, the finding of the colt, the selection of the room for the 
passover ; a few circumstances being added to make the accounts 
coherent, such as any writer of tolerable imagination might have 

* John xiii. 19, " Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to 
pass, ye may believe that I am he." xiv. 29, "And now I have told yon be- 
fore it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. " 



HIS OW5 DEATH AND RESURRECTION. 317 

supplied. Gradual exaggeration rather than wilful fiction might, 
however, in many cases, explain the manner in which the account 
originated. For example, it appears, from the reproaches of the 
multitude, that Jesus had said, "Destroy this temple, and in three 
days I will build it again." John sees in this, after the event, a 
prediction by Jesus of his own death and resurrection ; and it is 
easy to imagine that, in passing through several narrations, it 
might have been enlarged into as complete a prophecy as that in 
Matt. xx. 17. 

On the other hand, the contemplation by Jesus of his own death 
is mingled in so many ways with his sayings and actions after his 
last departure from Galilee, and the institution of the last supper 
is so standing a memorial of his having in some degree foreseen 
it, that there seems to be some mixture of truth in the above nar- 
ratives. 

The most probable conclusion appears to be, that Jesus began 
to contemplate the possibility of his death, when he found himself 
compelled, by the ill-will of Herod, to leave Galilee, and that he 
began then to warn his followers that no one who was unprepared 
to risk his life was fit for the kingdom of God ; that after his 
arrival at Jerusalem it became daily more evident to him that he 
must suffer as a seditious innovator, and that his last discourses 
contained many anticipations of his approaching fate. 

It is evident that he could not have given any clear announce- 
ment on this subject whilst in Galilee, because up to the time of 
his arrival at Jerusalem the disciples expected that the kingdom 
of God would immediately appear. They continued to expect a 
temporal throne even much later. Some occasional and ambiguous 
hints dropped by him concerning the dangers to be expected at 
Jei-usalem, being remembered after his death, might have given 
rise to the belief that he spake of his death " when he was yet in 
Galilee," Luke xxiv. 6. Also, the style of some real discourses 
shortly before his death may have been transposed to occasions 
much earlier. For it appears very clear that none of the Evan- 
gelists had much regard to the order of time or place in relating 
the discourses of Jesus. There was no reporter at hand to take 
down these discourses as they were delivered. They must have 
been repeated by the disciples from memory, and could have been 
preserved only by tradition, until some one undertook to write 
them down. Whilst this loose method of preserving them pre- 
vailed, the sayings of Jesus were probably much altered, and 
accommodated to the new ideas which became prevalent in the 
church. It is not unlikely even that many sayings gradually be- 



818 WHETHER JESUS FORETOLD, ETC. 

came current as his, which never proceeded from him in any shape. 
During the interval of nearly forty years between his death and 
the writing of Matthew's Gospel, the Christian church had be- 
come familiarized to the idea that his death happened in fulfilment 
of prophecy, and was contemplated by himself as part of his mission. 
It was very natural, then, for an advocate of the sect, at the latter 
period, to represent Jesus himself as preaching in accordance with 
these notions. 

The following language attributed to Jesus bears the impress of 
fiction. Matt. xii. 40, " As Jonas was three days and three nights 
in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and 
three nights in the heart of the earth." In the story of Jonah, 
there is no reason to doubt that the time was literally what is 
written, Jonah i. 17 ; but Jesus was in the tomb only from Friday 
night until Sunday morning, or one day and two nights. There 
is no evidence that this interval could have been called, in common 
Jewish phraseology, rpug riftspag kcli rpng wKTaQ. Even though this 
mode of computation were used for some legal purposes, a prophet 
would not select language conveying in the obvious sense a mis- 
take ; but it agrees with the style of Matthew to sacrifice correct- 
ness as to facts for the sake of accommodating the precise words 
in Jonah to Christ. Mark perceived, probably, the absurdity, 
since he has omitted the allusion to Jonas. Luke has preserved 
it, wording it so as to avoid the more glaring part of the incon- 
sistency. Luke xi. 30, " For as Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, 
so shall also the Son of Man be to this generation."* 

* In the Gemara there is much discussion concerning the duration of 
the three mine (noctiduum, vvxOrjjxipov) allowed for ceremonial uncleanness. 
There was a tradition that R. Eliezer ben Azariah had said, "A day and a 
night make up the oune, and a part is as the whole ;" with which R. Ismael 
agreed. But R. Jochanan and Akiba said, that either a day or a night 
constituted an oune. — See Lightfoot. The difficulty of determining the 
point seems to show that Eliezer's method of calculation was not in common 
use. The only argument brought by Rosenmiiller in favour of such a sup- 
position is, that the apostles did not encounter objections from the Jews on 
this subject. Jerome (on Jonah i. 17,) admits the difficulty of the passage 
in Matthew, and says that the parts of each 24 hours must be considered as 
the whole ; but he quotes no Jewish usage in proof, and concludes thus : 
" Certainly this seems to me the explanation ; but if any one does not adopt 
it, and can give a better exposition, his opinion ought to be preferred." 

It is true that Christ is often said to have risen the third day, and the 
Jews might have expressed this " risen after three days." But the addition 
"and three nights" renders the place clearly the studied parallel of Jonah 
i. 17 ; and this use of the prophet is more natural to the evangelist than to 
Jesus. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 

The histories which have come down to us of the life of Christ 
are scanty, and, as has been shown, in all probability much mixed 
with fable and with the ideas of later times. Still they present to 
us a character so peculiar and so strongly marked, as to force upon 
us the impression that it was a real one. Even though the sup- 
position that there never was such a person as Jesus Christ were 
not manifestly absurd in an historical view, the existence of the 
books before us might be sufficient to convince us that it must be 
abandoned ; for invention generally falls into some well-known 
track of ideas ; and it is in the highest degree improbable that 
several writers could concur in an accordant and well-sustained 
delineation of a singular, but yet wholly imaginary, character. 
The attentive perusal of the four Gospels leaves, then, the convic- 
tion, that Jesus really lived ; and, further, that there was in him 
a combination of traits which do not frequently meet in the same 
individual, the result being a character which has few or no paral- 
lels in history. It has been often said that this singularity of 
character does itself afford an evidence of the divinity of his 
mission. But the inference is unwarrantable, unless it can be 
proved that the character contains something necessarily super- 
human ; whereas it may, perhaps, be shown that each feature of it 
is resolvable into the operation of feelings and powers common, 
more or less, to all men, influenced by the circumstances in which 
he was placed. The supernatural character and offices attributed 
to Jesus have generally prevented Christians from examining this 
question freely ; any other language than that of panegyric or 
homage has been deemed by them unsuitable and irreverent ; and 
a kind of halo has thus been thrown around the founder of Christi- 
anity, which has contributed to the difficulty of seeing him in his 
natural aspect. Let us be on our guard no less against the over- 
strained admiration of his followers than against the attacks of 
his opponents, and endeavour to penetrate through all that con- 



320 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 



or dazzles the sight, in order to gain a distinct view of the 
carpenter's son of Nazareth. 

An enthu- I. Jesns was an enthusiast. This was not an un- 

siast. natural effect of the study of the Jewish scriptmres. 

He had heard or read from his infancy the history and prophetic 
writings of his country, which, from their sacred associations, 
their antiquity, their record of miraculous interpositions, their 
claim to divine inspiration, and their wild imagery, were of a 
nature most impressive to the imagination. The prophetic writings 
were especially of this character ; their real origin and meaning 
were imperfectly known ; the people considered them, and the 
scribes pretended to consider them, as divine oracles. From the 
time of the Maccabees, the prophets, as well as the law, had been 
established in popular veneration, and to question the authority of 
either was equivalent to denying the national creed, and forsaking 
the first principles of religion. Such scepticism never entered into 
the minds of the religiously educated Jews, like Jesus. He, 
therefore, read the books of Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, 
Zechariah, and Malacbi, not as interesting poetical remains, but 
as oracles of great and pressing import, as foretelling fearful signs 
and wonders, and mighty revolutions to be accomplished in the 
latter times. One principal topic of these books is the general 
perfection and happiness of the world at some distant age. This 
subject has interested the feelings and exercised the imagination 
of many men in all countries ; but in the books in question it was 
combined with other topics peculiarly animating to the Jews, viz. 
that the chosen people were to be the instruments of God for 
bringing the world to the true worship ; and that in the new sera 
the throne of Israel would be restored by a second David, and all 
former monarchies surpassed by the splendour of the kingdom of 
the saints of heaven, and of God. That such a belief, sanctioned 
by all the authority of their national religion, should have been 
highly exciting to the Jews under a foreign yoke, is less surprising 
than that any could have remained unmoved by it. "When Jesus 
was eight years old, all Judea was roused by the bold doctrines of 
Judas and Sadduc ; and it cannot be doubted that the precepts and 
example of his countryman must have exercised a potent influence 
over the poetic mind of the young Galilean. By dwelling long 
upon a favourite project, the mind easily acquires the belief that 
it has a secret mission to fulfil it ; and thus Jesus, from contem- 
plating the kingdom of God, was led to believe himself to be the 
predestined king. The idea of his own mission was confirmed by 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 321 

the power which he found his preaching to possess over the multi- 
tudes, and the apparent success of his compliance with their 
petitions to expel demons. 

Such an enthusiasm was by no means irrational in one situated 
like Jesus. On the contrary, admitting the inspiration of the 
prophets, the strictest reasoner must allow that the views of Jesus 
were well grounded ; and then it becomes merely a sign of mental 
vigour, that he acted according to them. 

It may be said, that such an enthusiasm would have given way 
at the prospect of sufferings and death. But this is not evi- 
dent. Under the character of prophet and messiah, Jesus had 
traversed Galilee, and attached to himself many followers ; his belief 
in his divine mission had been confirmed by the elevation conceded 
to him by those around him ; and that which was at first enthusiasm 
became a settled principle of action. Besides, to men of a high 
tone of character, intent upon great objects, and especially be- 
lieving, like Jesus, in the immortality of the soul, the prospect of 
death has much less terror than that of an inglorious retreat. 
Considering the position arrived at by Jesus when Herod was 
about to arrest him, we should be prepared to see a more surprising 
phenomenon in a sudden renunciation of his claims and a retire- 
ment into disgraceful obscurity, than in his actual proceeding to 
Jerusalem at the risk of his life. On approaching the city, and 
on perceiving that still the kingdom of heaven did not appear, 
that no sufficient human or divine aid was near to effect the rege- 
neration which he had hoped to bring to Israel, he began to look 
upon his fate as inevitable, and, as it approached nearer, prepared 
to meet it with a dignity becoming the character he had assumed. 
Enthusiasm is, to a certain degree, flexible ; and Jesus being forced 
to see the hopelessness of the immediate coming of the Messiah's 
kingdom, adapted his views to the course of events, and taught 
that the Messiah must suffer before he should reign. To his asso- 
ciates he was still the Messiah ; he promised them hereafter the 
kingdom which it was plain they would not obtain immediately ; 
and to the last maintained, and believed, that he was the Son of 
Man predicted by the prophets, who was to come on the clouds of 
heaven, to introduce the kingdom of the saints. Dan. vii. 
13, 14. 

II. Jesus was a revolutionist. He expected to be A revolu- 
king of the Jews, and to restore the kingdom of tiomst. 
Israel. This appears from his lamentation over Jerusalem, Matt, 
xxiii. 37, " How often would I have gathered thy children together, 
v 



322 OX THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

and ye would not"; from his selecting the number twelve for his 
apostles, in agreement with the number of the tribes, and of 
seventy for the disciples, who went to proclaim him, in imitation 
of the number of the Jewish Sanhedrim ; from his promising 
twelve thrones to the disciples ; and from his assviming the titles, 
Son of David, Messiah, King of Israel, and King of the Jews. 
The latter was the office of the Messiah most dwelt npon in the 
prophets, and most currently attributed to him in popular opinion. 
All this confirms the truth of part, at least, of the accusation 
brought against him, viz. " He stirreth up the people, teaching 
throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee, to this place, saying, 
that he himself is Christ, a king," Luke xxiii. 2, 5. "And Pilate 
asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he 
answered him, and said, Thou sayest it."* This admission of 
Jesus himself, together with the notoriety of the fact, induced 
Pilate to inscribe on the cross, " This is the king of the Jews." 
Now it is evident that the title, " King of the Jews," or of Israel, 
was understood in its obvious and literal sense by the Jewish 
populace, and also that this sense was included in the character 
attributed by the prophets to the Messiah. Since Jesus in assum- 
ing the title, and during the whole of his career, allowed it to be 
understood in its current acceptation, it is very improbable that he 
himself should have taken it in a sense so unthought of as that of 
a merely spiritual king. 

It seems likely that he expected a popular movement to follow 
his preaching, towards the beginning of his career, in Galilee ; for 
the main purport of this preaching was to urge the people to 
prepare for the kingdom of heaven, and for a sign of adherence, 
he required his converts to follow him. Matt. iv. 19, 25, viii. 22, 
ix. 9, x. 88. This agrees with the complaint of Josephus, Ant. 
xx. viii., that men pretending to divine inspiration induced the 
multitude to follow them into the wilderness, pretending that God 
would show them signals of liberty, or deliverance. Such solemn 
warnings of the approach of the kingdom as Jesus delivered to 
whole towns and provinces, imply that he intended more than 
merely to require preparation for the reception of purer moral and 
spiritual doctrines. If he had intended only this, he would surely 

* According to Schoettgen, this was a solemn form of affirmation, of 
which he quotes two instances. Berachoth Hier. citante Wagenseil ad Sota, 
p. 1001. The Zipporenses asked if K. Judah were dead. The son of Kaphra 
answered, Ye hare said.— Hieros. Kilaim, fol. 32, 2. They said to him, Is 
the Rabbi dead ? He answered, Ye have said. — See Horse HebraicEe in 
Matt. xsvi. 25. 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 323 

have refrained from using language which, in the existing temper 
of the nation, was so likely to be mistaken for a promise of 
national deliverance. The appearance of other pretenders of this 
kind made it the more necessary to distinguish his mission care- 
fully from theirs, if it were in reality intended to be of a totally 
different character. 

The injunctions given so frequently, to follow him, agree with 
the accusation " he stirreth up the people," and indicate that Jesus 
expected the coming of some extraordinary event, such as a 
national regeneration, which would interfere with the common 
routine of life, and which was so near at hand that men, in order 
to prepare for it, must forsake their occupations, kindred, and all 
that they had, not looking back even to perform the most pressing 
ordinary duties. " And another of his disciples said unto him, 
Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said 
unto him, Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." Matt, 
viii. 21, 22. "And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee ; 
but let me first go bid them farewell which are at home at my 
house. And Jesus said unto him, No man having put his hand 
to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 
Luke ix. Gl, 62. " If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou 
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : 
and come and follow me." Matt. xix. 21. " Every one that hath 
forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or 
wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an 
hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life." Matt. xix. 29. 
" If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take 
up his cross,* and follow me." Ch. xvi. 24. This interruption of 
the common business of life was quite unnecessary for the intro- 
duction of a purer creed of religion and morals. This end might 
have been effected by simply preaching at each town and syna- 
gogue, the hearers being exhorted, as they were by Paul in later 
times, to continue in the vocations wherewith they had been called. 
What could Jesus do with crowds of followers, and what motive 
could he have for encouraging an excitement which must bring so 
much inconvenience and hazard upon himself, unless he really 



* The preceding chapter tends to prove that this is one of those speeches 
in which the writer has allowed himself to introduce his own knowledge of 
subsequent events. That Jesus did not really use these words concerning 
the taking up of the cross, is inferred from the inconsistency of such pre- 
dictions with many important parts of his history. But that he said the 



324 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

expected that some extraordinary change in the state of the nation 
was about to take place ? 

The exhortations to follow him are too frequent and too general 
to allow us to suppose that they were intended only for a few select 
disciples. Multitudes did follow him, and evidently with his per- 
mission and sanction. Matt. ix. 36, xii. 15, xv. 32, xix. 2. But 
after they had accompanied him for some time, he occasionally 
found it necessary, from fatigue or from a sense of inconvenience, 
to avoid them, or to send them away. The expectation of the 
kingdom was not sufficient to maintain crowds in the deserts ; and 
in the absence or delay of signs from heaven, they must, of neces- 
sity, be dismissed. Matt. xiii. 36, xiv. 22. 

After he had preached through most of the cities of Galilee, he 
began to upbraid Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, because they 
repented not ; and, according to Matthew, it was at that time that 
he uttered the prayer, " I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven 
and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and 
prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes," xi. 25. Since he had 
been preaching to these cities to prepare for the kingdom of God, 
and since in the case of individuals he required some sign of 
adherence to himself, such as a profession of faith, or following 
him, it seems probable that by the repentance which he required of 
the towns, he meant not only the expression of contrition, but a 
recognition of his authority, and some public demonstration of 
preparation for the kingdom which he was about to introduce. 
This would account for the repulsive conduct of the towns of 
Galilee. The allusion to the ignorance of the " wise and prudent" 
in the prayer immediately following, seems to be a reproof directed 
against the men of influence and authority in those towns for their 
rejection of him. It was quite natural that the magistrates, rulers 
of synagogues, Pharisees, and other persons of weight, on whom 



rest, or something equivalent to it, may be admitted from its agreeing not 
only with numerous other injunctions of the same kind, but with some of 
the principal events in his history ; for multitudes did follow him, and this 
was one of the grounds of the accusation which led to his death. It is true, 
that conclusions ai'rived at in this manner cannot, in most cases, be con- 
sidered as more than highly probable conjectures ; but it has been already 
represented to the reader, that the materials remaining for the life of Jesus, 
do not, in many parts, admit of more than this. Those who have once 
allowed that there may possibly be an admixture of fiction in the report of 
the speeches of Jesus, must either renounce the whole as being of too 
doubtful authority to deserve attention, or endeavour to separate the truth 
from the fiction bv a careful analysis. 



AXD DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 325 

rested the responsibility of preserving order in the province, should 
share the feelings of the priests at Jerusalem, and, in later times, 
of Josephus, and be anxious to curb rather than encourage the 
inclination of the multitude, to look for sudden political innova- 
tions and changes, whether to be brought about by human or 
superhuman means. Jesus, coming amongst them with the warn- 
ing that the kingdom was nigh at hand, resembled too nearly 
Judas the Galilean, and later innovators, to be looked upon 
otherwise than with coldness and suspicion ;* and these pressing 
political considerations made the chief men in each town, with a 
few exceptions, disregard that which was superior and more 
innoxious in the claims of Jesus — the character of moral teacher 
and prophet. That which is of least interest to us, the political 
aspect of the proceedings of Jesus, was to them necessarily of 
most urgent importance. 

There is a passage in Luke somewhat at variance with this view 
of the expectations of Jesus. " And when he was demanded of 
the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered 
them, and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. 
Neither shall they say, Lo here ! or lo there ! for, behold, the 
kingdom of God is within (or among) you." Luke xvii. 20, 21. 
But this passage occurs as the introduction to a discourse which 
alludes very plainly! to the siege of Jerusalem, and seems, there- 
fore, to be one of those which we must regard as expressing more 
of the views of the writer's own time than of those of Jesus. By 
the time of the siege of Jerusalem, it had been seen that the 
kingdom which Jesus had announced as nigh at hand had not 
come with that open display which was at first expected ; and it 
was therefore supposed to consist in the gradual and noiseless 
spread of his doctrine and church. Of the same character, pro- 
bably, is the passage, " The law and the prophets were until John: 
since that time ( i. e. until the siege of Jerusalem) the kingdom of 
God is preached, and every man pressethinto it." Luke xvi. 16. 

* This suspicion was strongly expressed, after the arrival at Jerusalem, 
in the question, " Is it lawful to give tribute to Cassar, or not ?" The Gali- 
leans, whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices, Luke xiii. 1, were 
probably more open promulgators of the doctrines of Judas, because the 
procurators seldom interfered with the Jewish rites, unless the assemblies 
bore a seditious appearance. The answer of Je^sus expresses no small degree 
of sympathy. Those Galileans were not to be considered sinners any more 
than men who might have met their fate by an untoward accident ; but all 
who did not repent at his preaching, would as surely meet a similar fate, 
and in such a case justly. 

f Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. 



326 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

If, however, the passage just quoted seem to render it doubtful 
whether Jesus himself expected some approaching national change, 
when he preached throughout the country that the kingdom of God 
was nigh, — where can we find evidence more decisive than the tes- 
timony of the disciples, who had heard Jesus himself, and conse- 
quently were better able to judge what his meaning was than 
readers who are obliged to gather it from a collection of interpo- 
lated fragments ? Now Luke says, that when they approached 
Jerusalem, "they (meaning apparently the disciples,* or including 
them) thought that the kingdom of God should immediately ap- 
pear," xix. 11. That their idea of the kingdom included a national 
deliverance, is proved by the speech attributed to Cleopas, " we 
trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel," 
and that supposed to be spoken by the apostles at the ascension, 
" Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" It 
is a violent and unwarrantable hypothesis to suppose that the con- 
stant attendants upon Jesus had grossly misunderstood him con- 
cerning the chief subject of his preaching ; one, too, on which they 
themselves had been sent out by him to preach. We must, there- 
fore, conclude, that up to the time of his arrival at Jerusalem he 
had authorized them to expect, and did himself expect, in the 
kingdom of God, an approaching national deliverance. 

According to Luke, Jesus spoke a parable to correct the notion 
that his kingdom should immediately appear. This parable of the 
nobleman who went into a far country to receive a kingdom, and 
to return, postpones the coming of the kingdom to a future uncer- 
tain date ; and it is remarkable that from this time, the discourses 
alluding to the kingdom of heaven, instead of representing it as 
nigh at hand, place it after the siege of Jerusalem. At the pass- 
over supper Jesus is made to say, " I will not drink of the fruit of 
the vine until the kingdom of God shall come," Luke xxii. 18; 
and the following verses imply that this would be after his death. 
In this, and in the other discourses referred to, we perceive, amidst 
the manifest interpolations of later times, an alteration in the tone 



* Compare xviii. 34, with this verse. The avrovq of ver. 11, might, ac- 
cording to the rules of composition, refer to the cl-kclvtis of ver. 7, all the 
company. But nothing indicates that Luke intends to except the twelve as 
not sharing the delusion. The whole strain of the narrative is to the con- 
trary purport, as well as the 'demand of James and John in the other evan- 
gelists. The words hecavse they were nigh Jerusalem, imply that he ad- 
dressed especially those who had oeen his companions during the journey 
thither. 



AXD DOCTRIXE OF CHRIST. 327 

of Jesus concerning the kingdom; and coupling this alteration 
with the lamentation over Jerusalem, " How often would I have 
gathered thy children together, and ye would not," we are led to 
conjecture that Jesus himself must have changed his views about 
the time of his arrival at Jerusalem, so far, at least, as to admit 
that the national deliverance, of which he had expected to be the 
instrument, was not to be looked for within any definite period. 
But although his opinion concerning the date of the kingdom's 
manifestation might fluctuate, bis ideas concerning its nature do 
not hitherto appear to have materially changed ; for the parable, as 
given by Luke, evidently contains a larger mixture of temporal 
than of spiritual anticipations, and represents the Messiah under 
the common notion of a triumphant successor of David. It is said 
the nobleman's "citizens hated him, and sent a messenger after 
him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." The 
faithful servants are promised the rule over cities ; and the contu- 
macious citizens are thus condemned, " But those, mine enemies, 
which would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither, 
and slay them before me."* 

John alone makes Jesus say that his kingdom is not of this 
world, xviii. 36. It has been observed that this Gospel was 
written 27 years after the fall of Jerusalem, when the original 
notion of the kingdom of God, as regenerated Israel, was almost 
forgotten, or merged in that of a spiritual dominion over all 
mankind. Hence the different tone of John's Gospel is insuffi- 
cient to invalidate the conclusions which we can gather from the 
three earlier ones, respecting Christ's views of his kingdom. Even 
in this Gospel, however, there are some traces of the earlier tem- 
poral anticipations. "Nathaniel answered, and saith unto him, 
Rabbi, thou art the son of God, thou art the king of Israel," i. 49. 
"And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is 
written, Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold thy king cometh, 
sitting on an ass's colt," xii. 14, 15. 

In John alone, also, it is related that on one occasion Jesus 
avoided the multitude, lest they should take him by force to make 



* Since Matthew's version of the parable differs considerably from Lnkr's, 
it is probable that both differ from what was originally said by Jesus. I 
assume Luke's to be the more correct, because the character attributed by 
him to the king agrees better with the original notion of the Messiah than 
that given by Matthew, who makes him the judge of all nations : an idea 
which, it appears from the Acts, became prevalent after the admission of the 
Gentiles. 



328 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

him a king, vi. 15. This might be true, and yet only prove that 
he did not then consider the proper time arrived for declaring him- 
self openly. In the same manner he enjoined strict secrecy to his 
disciples on announcing to them his claim of the Messiahship, and 
avoided giving a direct answer to the question of John's disciples, 
" Art thou he that should come," the Messiah or expected deliverer, 
" or look we for another ?" His intention at first seems to have 
been to content himself with preparing the people for the kingdom, 
until the moment should arrive when some striking manifestation 
of divine aid should enable him to declare that the kingdom was 
come, and to ascend unopposed the throne of David. But this 
cautious reserve was thrown aside on his arrival at Jerusalem, when 
he allowed the multitude of the disciples to proclaim before him, 
"Blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord," Luke 
xix. 38, and encouraged them to persevere in these evidently sedi- 
tious cries in spite of the remonstrances of the Pharisees. This 
conduct, so unlike that which he pursued in Galilee, might proceed 
from the impossibility which he found of maintaining his reserve 
any longer. He had arrived at a point when he must either re- 
nounce or publish his claims ; and since the general tone of the 
discourses attributed to him about this time indicates an abated 
confidence in his expectation of immediate success, the apparent 
recklessness which he now displayed might proceed from an in- 
ternal determination to encounter martyrdom willingly, whenever 
it might arrive. It is difficult, however, to ascertain with any de- 
gree of precision what were the views and expectations of Jesus at 
this trying juncture ; and we should, perhaps, err in attributing to 
him any determinate view whatever. In looking at the past, we 
are apt to attribute to the actors views having a reference to sub- 
sequent events, the knowledge of which is fixed in our own minds, 
but which, being to them future, could have no influence upon 
them. The position in which Jesus was placed on his arrival at 
Jerusalem was one which rendered it peculiarly difficult to form a 
resolution without waiting for a further development of events. 
He knew not what a day might bring forth ; each succeeding hour 
might be the one destined to see the advent of the kingdom ; and 
the hosannas of the crowd might only be the harbingers of those 
of a legion of angels. Hence, there would be no absurdity in sup- 
posing that there was some fluctuation in the views of Jesus 
himself at this period, and that the enthusiasm of the multitude 
revived for a moment his own expectation of the approach of the 
kingdom ; but that subsequent events forced him to recur to the 
anticipation of his death. 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 329 

Although it thus appears that Jesus included a national deliver- 
ance in his idea of the kingdom of heaven, and that he endeavoured 
to bring the whole people into a state of excitement, which was to 
be the precursor of some important political change, — it does not 
follow, of necessity, that he should have given indications of a plan 
of armed rebellion against the Romans. The key to his conduct 
seems to be that he relied principally on the divine intervention 
promised by the prophets. When we reflect that these were read 
daily as oracles of undoubted truth, and that many passages in 
them clearly countenanced such an idea, we need not be surprised 
that it was taken up even by some minds of a superior cast. Take, 
for instance, the passage of Zechariah, chap, xiv., which promises 
that, in the day of the Lord, "the Lord sball fight against the 
nations, and his feet shall stand upon the mount of Olives, which 
is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall 
cleave in the midst thereof toward the east, and toward the west, and 
there shall be a very great valley ; and half of the mountain shall 
remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south," &c* 
Things similar to this, it was supposed, had once happened. If 
the Red Sea divided, and Sinai shook, when the Lord delivered 
his people from Egypt, a prophet like unto Moses might hope to 
see the divine arm displayed in an equally effective manner to 
rescue his servant Israel from the taskmasters of Rome. 

Jesus, then, followed the rest of his countrymen in believing 
that one part of the office of the Messiah was to restore the throne 
of Israel ; but the character of prophet and teacher seems to have 
agreed better with his temper and habits of thought. The preli- 
minary office of preaching repentance and preparation suited him 
better than the task of guiding the excitement into action. The 
poetical imagery and inspiring strains of the prophets, more than 
the desire of political power, awakened his enthusiam to the quest 
of the visionary kingdom ; and he found a more congenial employ- 
ment in dilating on its sublime prospects, than in entering into 
those political intrigues and daring enterprises which form the 
gratification of ordinary revolutionists. His prototypes were 
Nathan or Isaiah, rather than Joshua or Gideon. His mind was 
of that contemplative and imaginative cast, which appears too fine 
for the coarser turmoils of the world ; and he appears to us more 

* That this passage, amongst others, had been in the thoughts of Jesus, 
seems probable froni Matt. xxi. 21. 



330 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

in agreement with the general aspect of bis character presented to 
us, when pouring out his rich stores of parable and precept on the 
Mount or by the sea-side, than when driving the buyers and sellers 
from the Temple. The assumption of the Messiahsbip necessarily 
led him to the adoption of views partly political ; but his apparent 
disposition to content himself with merely delivering exhortations, 
warnings, and precepts, so long as he was allowed to do so unmo- 
lested, seems to indicate that the character of a moral and intel- 
lectual leader was more natural to him ; and it might be an 
impression of this kind which contributed after his death to the 
disciples' ready abandonment of political projects, and to their 
adoption, in later, times, of the doctrine that his kingdom was not 
of this world. 

III. Jesus was a reformer. He opposed the dog- A reformer. 
mas of the Scribes and Pharisees, disregarded their interpretations 
of the law and traditions, and set the example of appealing freely 
to the mind's natural and independent dictates. He relieved be- 
nevolence and good sense from the pressure of established autho- 
rities, and taught that religion consists in the internal purity of 
the thoughts, and in the practice of morality, rather than in the 
performance of rites and ceremonies. Although these ideas were 
not new among the Jews, the state of their sects in the time of 
Jesus, the tendency to ostentatious ritualism among the Pharisees, 
and to monastic austerities among the Essenes, — gave to the man 
who could prefer to recall the purer lessons of Micah and Isaiah, 
and to urge the claims of mercy rather than of sacrifice, a title to 
be considered both as an independent thinker and a reformer. 

But the full extent of the reform which the Christian sect intro- 
duced into Judaism does not appear to have been attempted, — it is 
doubtful if it was contemplated even, by Jesus himself. He ob- 
served the ritual law of Moses, frequently gave his sanction to it, 
and we cannot discover that he ever authorized its disuse. After 
his death, his followers appear for a considerable time to have had 
no idea of forsaking the Mosaic institutes ; insomuch that the first 
proposal to dispense with them nearly created a schism, and ap- 
peared to the heads of the church a case so novel, that it required 
a special council to decide upon it. 

This view of the conduct of Jesus, with respect to the laws of 
Moses, agrees with the silence of Josephus concerning him, when 
lamenting the disuse of the ancient Jewish rites. Antiq. xviii. 
chap. 1. If he had considered Jesus as the prime mover in this 
bold innovation, he could hardly have avoided alluding to him in 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 331 

this place, especially as the disuse of the law among the greater 
part of the Christian sect, when Josephns wrote, pointed Jesus out 
to his particular notice. But he accuses Judas the Galilean of 
having caused the change in the customs of their fathers by intro- 
ducing a new system of philosophy, and thus tacitly exonerates 
Jesus. This innovation of his predecessor and countryman Judas 
renders the conservatism of Jesus, in respect to the law of Moses, 
the more remarkable. 

Hence the merit of Jesus, as a reformer, consists rather in the 
general liberal and enlightened tone of his teaching, which contri- 
buted to prepare the way for the changes introduced afterwards 
into Judaism chiefly by Paul, than in any decided reformation pro- 
posed by himself. Prom his conduct, it appears even very impro- 
bable that he himself would have been prepared to go so far in the 
path of reformation or destruction as the apostle of the Gentiles, 
and to admit that the law was superseded by faith, and that in 
Christ there was neither circumcision nor uncircumcision.* 

We are led by this to another interesting but difficult inquiry, 
viz. how far Jesus himself contemplated the admission of the 
Gentiles into his kingdom. 

Many of the speeches attributed to Jesus in the four Gospels 
evidently allude to, or imply a knowledge of, this enlargement of 
his church. Matt. viii. 11, 12 : " And I say unto-you, That many 
shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with 
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But 
the children of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness." — 
xxi. 43 : " Therefore I say unto you, The kingdom of God shall 
be taken from you (from the parable of the husbandmen, evidently 
the Jews), and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." 
— xxiv. 31 : " And he shall send his angels with a great sound of 
a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four 
winds, from one end of heaven to the other." — xxv. 32 : And be- 



* Luke xvi. 17 : " And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one 
tittle of the law to fail." This appears to have been a Rabbinical saying. 
Sohar Genes : " Although all men in the world should be gathered together 
to abolish Jod, which is the least letter hi the law, they will not succeed." 
In Matthew v. 18, we find the addition, "till all be fulfilled." But this 
addition, and the preceding verse, have the appearance of anachronism, 
from their meeting an objection which does not seem likely to have existed 
during the life of Jesus. No one then accused him of destroying the law and 
the projihets. But from the time of the Gentile controversy the Jews often 
made this a ground of accusatian against his sect. 



832 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

fore him shall be gathered all nations." — xxvi. 13 : " Verily I say 
unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole 
world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for 
a memorial of her." — xxviii. 19 : "Go ye, therefore, and teach all 
nations." — Luke ii. 10 : " And the angel said unto them, Fear not : 
for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to 
all people." — 32 : " A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory 
of thy people Israel." 

Yet we find some speeches of Jesus of a very different character, 
indicating that he considered his mission to be to the Jews only. 
Matt. x. 5, 6 ; " Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any 
city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel." — xv. 24 : "I am not sent but unto 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Luke makes the angel 
say to Mary, i. 32, 83, " He shall be great, and shall be called the 
Son of the Highest ; and the Lord God shall give unto him the 
throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of 
Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Mary 
says, ver. 54, 55, " He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remem- 
brance of his mercy, as he spake to our fathers." The claim of 
Zaccheus to salvation is made by Jesus to depend upon his being 
considered a son of Abraham. Luke xix. 9. 

Now of these two classes of sayings, which has the better claim 
to be considered as faithfully representing the views of Jesus him- 
self? The latter; because they represent opinions which were 
grown out of date at the time when the books were written, and 
therefore the writers could have no motive for inserting them, 
unless they were well-known relics of some of the discourses of 
Jesus. Such a speech as, " I am not sent but to the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel," was totally at variance with the state and 
prospects of the church at the time of the fall of Jerusalem, when, 
as the writer himself intimates, the kingdom of Christ was pass- 
ing away to the Gentiles ; but it agrees with the actual facts in the 
life of Jesus, who was a Jew, spent his life amongst his own nation, 
and had, as far as we can learn, very little intercourse with or 
knowledge of the rest of the world. Whereas the sayings of the 
contrary description, concerning the extension of the kingdom, 
represent exactly what may be supposed to have been the opinions 
prevalent at the date of the writing, when Christanity had been 
diffused widely through the Roman empire, and the Jewish church 
had become insignificant in comparison with its numerous younger 
sisters of the Gentiles ; but they cannot be attributed to Christ 
himself otherwise than as prophecies. 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 833 

Another and perhaps stronger argument to show that Christ 
took the more limited view of his kingdom, is found in the con- 
duct of his followers. They continued till after the death of 
Stephen to preach the word to Jews only, Acts xi. 19 ; and appear 
to have been brought into contact with the Gentiles in consequence 
of the gradual extension of their society, the persecution concern- 
ing Stephen, and other incidental circumstances, rather than in 
pursuance of a system of universal missions, which the supposed 
words of Jesus, Matt, xxviii. 19, Acts i. 8, seem to enjoin. The 
first Gentile conversions created all the surprise which one would 
expect from an unforeseen turn of things. Acts x. 45 : " And 
they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many 
as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured 
out the gift of the Holy Ghost." — xi. 18 : " When they (the church 
at Jerusalem) heard these things, they held their peace, and 
glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted 
repentance unto life." It was made a matter of accusation against 
Peter that he went in unto men uncircumcised, and did eat with 
them ; and he justifies himself, not by referring to any of the many 
supposed sayings of Jesus before us concerning the universality of 
his kingdom, and the admission of other sheep into his fold, but 
by relating a recent vision sent to him with the special object to 
authorize this new direction of proselytism. In the council con- 
cerning the necessity of keeping the law, no reference is made to 
the authority of Jesus himself, although any sayings of his autho- 
rizing the admission of the Gentiles would have supplied most 
pertinent arguments. If he had really said that many should come 
from the east and the west, to sit down in the kingdom of God, 
and that his gospel should be preached in the whole world, with 
what infinitely greater effect might James have quoted such say- 
ings of the Messiah himself, than an obscure prophecy of Amos 
about building again the tabernacle of David ! Since Luke has 
given a brief sketch of several of the speeches at this council, it is 
probable that he has noticed all the principal arguments used ; and 
the absence of any allusion to the authority of the founder of the 
sect must appear remarkable. 

A great part of Paul's speeches and writings is occupied with 
the Gentile controversy ; yet here is the same apparent unconsci- 
ousness of any sayings of Christ himself bearing upon the subject. 
He quotes copiously from the prophets to prove that there is no 
difference between the Jew and the Greek: — since his Jewish 
readers believed also in Jesus, why omit all reference to his pre- 



884 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 






diction, that many from the east and west should sit down with 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or others equally to the point ? It is 
to be observed, also, that Luke represents Paul's mission to the 
Gentiles, not as undertaken in conformity with the teaching of 
Jesus during his natural life, but as the object of a special revela- 
tion to Paul himself. Acts xxvi. 16, 17. 

Thus arises a strong probability that Jesus himself had not 
arrived fully at those enlarged notions of the universality of his 
kingdom, without distinction of Jew or Gentile, which appear so 
frequently in the four Gospels. Yet the mere title, " King of the 
Jews," could not express the whole of bis ideas concerning tbe 
kingdom of God. They were such, probably, as a patriotic Jew 
might have formed from tbe propbets. The Son of Man, or Mes- 
siah, was to restore the tbrone of David, and to reign at Jerusalem ; 
all nations were to recognize tbe supremacy of the people of God, 
and to be converted to righteousness by the laws proceeding from 
Zion. Isaiah xlii. 1 — 4: "Bebokl my servant whom I uphold, 
mine elect in whom my soul delighteth ; I have put my spirit upon 

him : he shall bring forth judgment to tbe Gentiles He 

shall not fail, nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the 
earth: and the isles shall wait for his law." 21 : "Tbe Lord will 
magnify the law, and make it honourable." lx. 3: "The Gentiles 
shall come to thy (Zion's) light, and kings to the brightness of 
thy rising." Jer. iii. 17 : "At that time they shall call Jerusalem 
the throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered unto 
it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk 
any more after the imagination of their evil heart." Thus, in the 
views of Jesus, there was probably a large mixture of what was 
merely local and national, which disappeared in later times. The 
decay of the Jewish state, and the spread of the Gospel through 
many lands, led men to dwell upon and enlarge those parts of the 
Messiah's character and offices which were of universal interest. 
Jerusalem destroyed, made way for a new Jerusalem, the metro- 
polis of all the faithful, to descend from heaven ; the Messiah, 
instead of reigning in an earthly city, was to appear seated on the 
clouds of heaven ; the tribes of the earth, instead of coming to 
bend before mount Zion, were to look for the revelation of the 
Son of Man from on high ; and the king of Israel was forgotten 
in the Judge of mankind. 

IV. Jesus was a moral and religious teacher. This A moral and 
was part of the office of prophet, which he assumed ; yeligioi-is 
and was essential to his main purpose of preaching 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 335 

the kingdom of God. The peculiar Jewish notion that national 
righteousness must introduce the kingdom permitted the unusual 
combination, that one who suffered death as a revolutionist should 
be i*egarded as pre-eminently a moral teacher. 

It is not unfrequently allowed that, in the present age, the moral 
teaching of Jesus forms the strength of Christanity. The 
advocates of its divine origin, from a conviction of the sufficiency 
of historical evidence, are probably few in comparison with those 
who feel impressed with the divine authority of Jesus, by the 
weight, the beauty, and the apparent originality of his discourses 
and parables.* In the teacher presented to us in the four Gospels, 
an inexhaustible invention, sententiousness combined with copious- 
ness, affability with dignity, and the whole elevated by the con- 
tinual reference to a great object — the preparation for the kingdom 
of God — all this seems to justify the description, " never man 
spake like this man." Yet considering the sublime character 
which mere human genius sometimes assumes when influenced by 
the higher feelings, it appears unnecessary to have recourse to the 
hypothesis of an extraordinary divine inspiration to account for any 
of the discourses or doctrines of Jesus. The belief in his own 
appointment as a prophet and Messiah to his nation would give an 
air of elevation to the manner in which his precepts were delivered, 
of the same kind as the actual appointment might be expected 
to give ; and the precepts themselves can hardly be considered as 
more than what a favourably endowed mind might have drawn from 
its own resources, and from such materials as we know to have been 
within the reach of Jesus. 

The greater part of the precepts in the four Gospels are to be 
found in different parts of the Old Testament, in the book of 
Ecclesiasticus, and in the ancient Rabbinical writings. f Although 
it cannot be proved that Jesus borrowed directly from all these 
sources, it thus appears that the precepts referred to might have 
been familiar to many of the Jews in his time. The singular 
fortunes of this nation had given rise to some striking pecularities 
in its modes of thinking on moral and religious subjects ; and it 
may perhaps be shown, that much of that which distinguishes 
Christianity from other systems flowed from a state of thought 



* These remarks apply chiefly to the first three Gospels. Reasons have 
been given for considering the last as representing less faithfully the real 
character of the teaching of Jesus. 

f See nest chapter. 



336 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, AND 

neither uncommon nor unnatural in the nation from the bosom of 
which the new religion sprung. 

The science of morals having for its basis the constitution of 
human nature, teachers of it in different ages must necessarily 
have much agreement with each other. The distinctive character 
of each moralist is chiefly discernible in the selection of the duties 
on which he lays the greatest stress, and the grounds on which he 
rests moral obligation. In this view, the peculiarities which cause 
the doctrines of Jesus to stand apart from other systems appear 
to be principally the four following : — 

Firstly. The devotional spirit. This is the most striking 
feature in Christianity. There is a continual reference to the 
Supreme Being. The will of God is made the basis of all duty. 
Men are to imitate their Father in heaven. Jesus himself retires 
frequently into the desert to pray, and declares that his meat is to 
do the will of him that sent him, and to finish his work. 

This spirit was a prominent characteristic of the Jewish nation. 
Their form of government, and the vicissitudes to which the nation 
had been exposed, combining, perhaps, with an inherent disposi- 
tion, had caused the religious feeling, which is common in different 
degrees to all mankind, to be manifested among the Jews with a 
depth and constancy which rendered it their most striking national 
feature. The belief in one supreme invisible God, held by their 
remote forefathers, had been incorporated by Moses into their 
system of national law.* This belief, although not unknown to 
many nations, was by the Jews alone consolidated into an estab- 
lished religion. The conflicts which it had undergone with poly- 
theism in the time of the kings of Israel and Judah, and more 
lately during the ascendancy of the Macedonian kings of Syria, 
had ended in its triumph. The laws of Moses, which at intervals 
had fallen into disuse from the introduction of foreign ideas and 
usages, were revived successively by Ezra and Judas Maccabams. 
In consequence of the reformation effected by the latter, Judaism 
was not only firmly established in its native land, but began to 
make progress among the Greeks ; and the inferiority of Jewish 
political strength was in some degree compensated by the increasing 



* In " Bauer's Theology of the Ancient Hebrews," it is held to be probable 
that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was no more than a family-God, 
who by Moses was raised into a national-God ; and that the purer mono- 
theistic ideas interwoven in the Pentateuch proceed from a later age, that 
of David or later. English Translation, p. 2 — 42. 



AND DOCTRIXE OF CHKI8T. 337 

conquests of the Jewish religion. To pure monotheism the pro- 
phets added, that their nation was the chosen people of God, his 
servant appointed to make him known among the nations ; and 
consequently, that the Ruler of the universe was constantly watch- 
ing over the affairs of Israel, arranging events for his special 
benefit, and guiding him as a favourite child. The Jew who 
neglected the Deity felt himself guilty not only of impiety, but of 
treason and ingratitude towards the King and Father of his 
nation. Monotheism in Judea had therefore, in addition to its 
own inherent strength of sublimity and rationality, the support of 
patriotism and national feeling. 

Hence the remarkable prevalence of the religious tone observable 
in all the ancient Jewish books. The historian passes over 
secondary causes, and relates events as of the Lord's doing ; he 
omits all reference to human motives, and tells us that his person- 
ages act as the Lord had put it into their hearts. The poet's com- 
positions are chiefly hymns of praise. Public teachers proclaim 
that they come from the Divine presence, and speak as the Lord 
said unto them. And the nation entitles the expected restoration 
of Israel, The Kingdom of God. 

The superintendence of the Deity, which was coldly or occa- 
sionally recognized in other nations as a speculative truth, was 
thus among the Jews a theme of constant and impassioned feeling. 
As such it appears also in the Gospel. But Jesus does not merely 
echo the prophets, and present to us incessantly the Lord of Hosts, 
and the God of Jacob ; he renders more prominent the paternal 
character of the Deity, and exhibits it in a form more calculated 
to attract and interest all men. He appears to direct his followers, 
by their title as human beings, rather than as members of the 
chosen nation, to approach the Father in heaven. Each individual 
in any nation might consequently appropriate to himself a share 
in the paternal regards of the Deity, and the close relationship, 
which had hitherto subsisted between Israel and his God, was by 
Christianity thrown open to all mankind. 

Secondly. The doctrine of a future state. This doctrine had 
gradually gained ground among the Jews from the date of the cap- 
tivity, and in the time of Jesus was held by the whole nation 
excepting the Sadducees. Jesus, therefore, does not lay down 
this doctrine as peculiar to himself. Although it had naturally a 
large share in his last discourses to his followers, he appears to 
introduce it only as the occasion requires, and as a doctrine well 
known to those whom he addressed. It certainly does not appear 



338 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, AND 

to be preached by Jesus in that urgent and pointed manner which 
we should expect from one who considered that the chief end of his 
mission was to bring immortality to light. Whence, then, has 
this doctrine come to be regarded as eminently distinctive of 
Christianity ? 

Jesus considered his principal object to be the preaching of the 
kingdom of God, which, it has been seen, was generally supposed 
to signify the restoration and enlargement of the throne of Israel. 
The expectation of this kingdom continued in the church after his 
death ; but its fulfilment in the sense originally contemplated 
being continually postponed, and becoming daily more improbable, 
it was gradually replaced by the more generally understood doc- 
trine of a future judgment. The transition was not unnatural, 
since the idea of the Messiah, as an universal and righteous king, 
might easily be modified into that of Judge of mankind. After 
the fall of Jerusalem, when it was seen that still the kingdom of 
God was not nigh, that the Son of Man did not appear on the 
clouds of heaven, and that the generation which had beheld him 
was passing away, and yet these things were not fulfilled; — the 
later interpretation of the promises of Jesus was confirmed, the 
throne of Israel was forgotten, and the kingdom understood only 
of the house eternal in the heavens. 

The latter was the sense usually given to the kingdom by Paul 
the preacher to the Gentiles. The first three Gospels, written 
near the time of the fall of Jerusalem, appear to preserve the 
original Jewish notion mixed with later interpretations ; but in 
the last Gospel few traces of the Messiah's earthly kingdom are to 
be found, and the promises of Jesus are made to refer clearly to 
the state of the righteous in heaven. 

Thus, by means of the undertaking of Jesus, a deep-rooted 
national superstition was made to lend its force to the spread of 
the doctrine of a future state. The vigorous impulse contributed 
to launch this doctrine amongst the nations to whom Christianity 
reached, where its own power, combined with other causes, main- 
tained it in health and increase after this temporary support had 
died away. 

Thirdly. The enforcement -of the virtues of humility and resig- 
nation. Precepts of this kind, " Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for they shall see God," — " Blessed are they which are persecuted 
for righteousness' sake," — " Come unto me, for I am meek and 
lowly in heart," — " But I say unto you that ye resist not evil ; but 
whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn fco him the 



AUD DOCTKINE OF CHRIST. 339 

other also"; — these are uncommon, and form a conspicuous feature 
in Christianity. The spirit which they inculcate has seldom been 
dwelt upon as a subject of commendation in other schools. The 
stoic pretended that pain and pleasure were alike indifferent to the 
wise man ; Jesus acknowledges pain and insult to be evil, but 
teaches that they are to be encountered willingly for righteousness' 
sake. The stoic martyr was supported by pride ; Jesus commends 
lowliness of heart. Whilst it is generally allowed that, amidst 
the clashing of human interests, a certain degree of uncomplaining 
endurance and of cheerful acquiescence under wrong, on the part 
of individuals, is eminently conducive to the good of society, — 
such a temper, in its actual manifestation, is so frequently ridiculed 
and despised, that the fine moral perception of a teacher, who 
could single it out for especial praise, has been justly made a matter 
of admiration. The more conspicuous virtues of courage, gene- 
rosity, and the like, have found numberless panegyrists ; but Jesus 
chiefly has unveiled the virtues which dignify adversity, and taught 
men to admire suffering worth. 

Yet here also it is impossible to ascribe originality to Jesus. 
The lowly spirit, which he commends, is also enjoined in terms of 
nearly equal force in the Old Testament and in the Rabbinical 
writings. These commendations are indeed so frequent, that the 
temper in question may be regarded as another peculiar feature in 
the Jewish character. Its prevalence may be accounted for by the 
joint influence of their religious creed, and the circumstances of 
the nation from the time of the Assyrian invasions. 

The supposed perpetual superintendence of the Supreme Being, 
which was so constantly impressed on the mind of the Jew, must 
necessarily dispose it to humility and resignation. The habitual 
contemplation of the Divine pei-fections, in contrast with the 
worshipper's own nature, must naturally produce the language, 
and frequently the spirit, of self-abasement. 

But another important cause of the prevalence of this tone 
among the Jews might be found, probably, in the precarious and 
usually oppressed state of their nation during eight centuries. 
The reign of Josiah beheld the departing reflection of the glories 
of David and Solomon ; and Jacob, successively the slave of the 
Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, obtained too short 
intervals of independent national existence ever to recover fully 
the bold and martial spirit of the conquerors of Canaan, or of the 
mighty men of David. The Jew who wept by the waters of 



340 OS THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

Babylon could no longer repeat the songs of Miriam and Deborah ; 
and the continual sight of the holy city in ruins, or in diminished 
glory, rendered the tone of Jeremiah for many centuries the more 
appropriate expression of the nation's feelings. Checked in his 
first attempts after increase and fame, the despised Israel learned 
to cultivate and appreciate the virtues of an humble spirit. 

It is curious to observe that the human race appears sometimes 
to learn on a large scale, by the same kind of lessons as those 
which carry on the education of individuals. By means of Jesus, 
the spirit which had resulted from his nation's misfortunes has 
been recommended to the world at large ; and thus, in the same 
way as adversity completes individual character, will the afflictions 
of the Jewish nation have contributed to the moral perfection of 
mankind. 

Fourthly. Another peculiarity of the doctrine of Jesus is its 
unlimited benevolence. " By this shall men know that ye are my 
disciples, if ye love one another." " Ye have heard that it hath 
been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy ; 
but I say nnto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, 
do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite- 
fully use you and persecute you : that ye may be the children of 
your Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his sun to rise on 
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the 
unjust." 

This is not equalled in the Old Testament. The Law contains 
many beautiful precepts concerning forgiveness : the Israelite is 
forbidden to bear any grudge against the children of his people, 
and is commanded to help his enemy's ass lying under its burthen ; 
but Moses spoke as the judicious magistrate, intent on promoting 
concord among the people immediately under his care, rather than 
as an universal philanthropist. The book of Proverbs forbids us 
to rejoice when an enemy falleth, lest the Lord turn away his wrath 
from him. In the Psalms and Prophets, forgiveness is far from 
being the prevalent tone with respect to enemies ; imprecations are 
mingled with prayers, and the day of the Lord's vengeance is 
looked forward to with exultation. It seems necessary, therefore, 
to seek for the cause of the superior tone of the Christian benevo- 
lence in the individual character of Jesus. He enjoins love to all 
mankind. His commands betoken the generous spirit which does 
good from its own impulse, and, with a noble carelessness, takes 
no record of injuries, because resentment and malice are beneath 
its nature. 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 341 

The motives recognized by Jesus appear to be twofold ; — the 
desire of attaining the highest moral perfection, and the hope of 
securing the favour of the Deity. " Be ye perfect, as your Father 
in heaven is perfect": and " Your reward shall be great, and ye 
shall be the children of the Highest." That this reward was to 
consist only in the pleasures springing from the exercise of the 
virtuous affections, few of the Jews would have been prepared to 
admit. Temporal prosperity had been promised in the law ; the 
Pharisees and Essenes looked for undefined enjoyments in a future 
life ; and this latter expectation was clearly held out by Jesus as 
the chief incentive to virtue. " Lay up for yourselves treasures 
in heaven." 

Upon the whole, the moral teaching of Jesus was such a com- 
bination as might be expected from a vigorous mind, fully conversant 
with the notions of his age and country, but yet able to modify or 
add to them from its own resources. He borrowed largely, but 
with the air of one who condescends to use some materials which 
he finds already prepared, rather than as one mistrusting his own 
power. Such precepts as these, " The sabbath was made for man, 
and not man for the sabbath"; "On these two commandments 
(love to God and love to man) hang all the law and the prophets" ; 
" Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you, for 
this is the law and the prophets" ; " These (moral duties) ought 
ye to have done, and not to leave the others (ritual observances) 
undone"; the parable of the good Samaritan, in answer to the 
question, Who is my neighbour ? — precepts like these show that 
the mind of Jesus was of that kind which finds a more appro- 
priate office in laying down great principles, than in merely 
expounding them. He set aside even the authority of Moses, 
when the doctrine of the lawgiver appeared to interfere with his 
own. " Moses said this on account of the hardness of your hearts, 
but from the beginning it was not so." He spake as one having 
authority, and not as the Scribes. The forms of logical disputa- 
tion were beneath the attention of one claiming a mission from 
heaven ; hence there is very little appearance of reasoning in his 
discourses, and in Jesus we seem to listen to an oracle, and not to 
a philosopher. 

V. The four Gospels present Jesus to us chieflv as Personal 
the Messiah. What he said and did in the short character, 
interval during which he bore this character was alone likely to be 
preserved through the traditions of nearly half a century. The 
writers probably knew, or could learn, but little of his history 



342 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

before the commencement of his preaching, that is, for the greater 
part of his life. The predominant interest belonging to his public 
career absorbed the attention of his cotemporaries ; and so little 
pains had they taken to obtain or record information concerning 
his earlier history, that, after the lapse of about forty years from 
his death, an industrious compiler, apparently intent upon collect- 
ing all relating to Jesus that he thought worthy of belief, and so 
well disposed to carry back his biography to an early date, that he 
begins with the birth of John the Baptist, was only able to record 
a few traditions evidently containing much fable* concerning his 
birth and infancy, and could find nothing to relieve the blank of 
about eighteen years from the time when the child Jesus disputed 
in the temple to the appearance of the Baptist. What was 
beyond the reach of Luke must remain inaccessible to later inves- 
tigation ; and we should seek in vain to satisfy our curiosity 
concerning the pursuits and demeanour of Jesus as the private 
citizen of Nazareth. f 

This very poverty of information on the part of so many as 
four writers, does, however, seem to authorize the conjecture that 
there was nothing remarkable to be told. Jesus probably attracted 
but little attention from his fellow-citizens previously to his public 
preaching. The contemplation of objects above the common pur- 
suits of life frequently produces an indifference towards and inap- 
titude for them, which in the eyes of most observers, and in many 
cases justly, place the recluse below rather than above the level of 
his fellow-men. The active but petty engagements which would 
confer weight in a provincial town, were probably little sought 
after by one who was meditating on the prophets ; and the re- 



* Zacharias is struck dumb for doubting the words of the angel Gabriel. 
This angel gives directions that the children shall be called, the one John, 
and the other Jesus, both of which were amongst the most common Jewish 
names. The speeches are little else than predictions of the future glory of 
the child Jesus. Anna speaks of him to all them that look for redemption 
in Jerusalem. It is revealed to Simeon that Jesus is the Lord's Christ. 
Yet no recollection of all this appears thirty years afterwards amongst his 
own family, who did not believe in him. 

f It is said in the Talmud that Jesus had been in Egypt when a young 
man in company with Rabbi Joshua ben Perachia, with whom having 
disagreed, he gave himself up to magical practices. — Bab. Sanhed., fol. 
107, 2. 

The continual resort of the Jews to Alexandria, and the opening part of 
Matthew's Gospel, seem to entitle this story to some credit, as far as relates 
to the journey of Jesus into Egypt at some period of his life. 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 343 

spectable Nazarenes who filled the important offices of priest, 
ruler of the synagogue, or tax-gatherer, might have smiled with 
contempt if told that their names would be eclipsed by that of the 
low-born, obscure, and apparently useless citizen, who, disregard- 
ing civil eminence, was engaged in the contemplation of the 
kingdom of God. 

The few allusions which are found to the earlier life of Jesus do 
not indicate that he had been considered as a person of influence or 
weight in his own town. His townsmen distinguish him merely 
by his profession and the name of his family. Mark vi. 1, 4: 
" He came to his own country, and his disciples follow him : and 
when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue ; 
and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath 
this man these things ; and what wisdom is this which is given 
unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands ? 
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James 
and Joses, and of Juda and Simon ? and are not his sisters here 
with us ? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto 
them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, 
and among his own kin, and in his own house." See also Luke 
iv. 24 ; John vi. 42 ; Matt. xiii. 54. 

His own family seem at first not only to have disbelieved the 
reality of his miracles, but to have looked upon his proceedings as 
rash and senseless. Mark iii. 21, 22: "And when his friends 
heard of it (the assemblage of the multitude), they went out to lay 
hold on him, for they said, He is beside himself. And the Scribes 
which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and 
by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils." John also re- 
lates a conversation in which the brethren of Jesus speak of his 
undertaking in a depreciating manner, vii. 3, 5. 

Thus it would appear that there had been nothing in the conduct 
of Jesus to prepare common observers for his notoriety, and that 
those who were most intimate with him, regarded his undertaking 
with surprise and impatience. How, then, did he acquire the com- 
mand of that deep reverence and that implicit obedience which seem 
to have been yielded to him by his disciples ? — By the dazzling 
nature of his pretensions, the force of character with which he sup- 
ported them, and his attractive social qualities. 

The claim of a divine mission, and the pretension to miraculous 
powers, generally call forth either contempt or admiration. The 
idea of command over invisible influences is so calculated both to 
delight and to overawe, that, if the claimant be able to maintain 



344 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

his hazardous pretensions with any apparent success, or merely to 
bring the minds of beholders into secret doubt, his influence be- 
comes of the most despotic kind. The enthusiasm of Jesus was 
not of that blind sort which precludes all regard to common pro- 
babilities. His belief in miracles was not the chimera of a dis- 
ordered imagination, but was founded on ideas common to his age 
and country ; it permitted, therefore, the exercise of intellectual 
vigour and acuteness in the situations into which such a belief led 
him. He possessed in a remarkable degree both the boldness and 
the tact which are necessary to every leader of a multitude, and 
especially to one who sustains the character of a miracle-worker. 
His answers to the applicants are generally such as would not 
compromise his reputation, whatever were the result: — " According 
to thy faith be it unto thee;" "Go thy way, thy faith has saved 
thee," &c. When the disciples whom he had authorized to cast 
out demons asked him why they could not cure a certain lunatic, 
his ready answer was, " Because of your unbelief," and " Howbeit 
this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." When 
pressed by his opponents to produce a sign from heaven, he re- 
ferred to "the sign of the times," and, by a prompt and sharp 
reproof, made his questioners appear the baffled party. When his 
disciples begged permission to call down fire from heaven to de- 
stroy the uncourteous village, he answered, " Ye know not what 
manner of spirit ye are of ; for the Son of Man is not come to 
destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another 
village." On another occasion, when called upon for a miracle, he 
promised at once to build the Temple in three days, requiring first 
that it should be destroyed. His retort concerning the authority 
of John, and his reply concerning the tribute money, show the 
same mixture of intrepidity and tact, which could always silence, 
although it might be dangerous or impossible to answer, an 
opponent. 

The degree of management or shrewdness here supposed does 
not imply that Jesus was a wilful deceiver, or insincere in his 
main purpose and pretensions. From his apparent success in the 
cases of demons and others, he might believe that he really pos- 
sessed a miraculous power ; but he was obliged to perceive that it 
was not invariable or universal. In his own mind he might con- 
clude that miracles of different magnitudes required different 
modes of preparation, or a different degree of faith ; or he might 
be unable to explain the matter at all to his own satisfaction. 
But in the meantime, he would naturally wish to avoid a display 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHKIST. 345 

of failure before his followers and the multitude, and, in the midst 
of incidental embarrassing conjunctures, would avail himself of his 
promptness of thought to find suitable evasions.* 

But the assertion of a divine commission, and the skilful main- 
tenance of miraculous pretensions, did not constitute the only 
hold of Jesus upon the allegiance of his followers. This was 
secured by the interest which he was able to excite as a man and a 
friend. The Messiah was equally revered as a leader, and loved 
as a companion. His tales, discourses, and ingenious adaptations 
of passing incidents, imparted higher charms to a life of adventure, 
and were more powerful than the direct command to follow him. 
He possessed in a high degree that facility or accessibleness which 
inspires confidence, whilst it does not diminish respect. The dis- 
ciples as well as the Pharisees invited him without fear to their 
feasts. The copiousness and weight of his conversation, and the 
interest which his presence alone must inspire by raising the minds 
of his associates to the contemplation of the elevated objects with 
which his name was connected, may explain the feeling of those 
who said, " Lord, we will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." 
The promptness of his rebukes even probably strengthened rather 
than weakened the attachment of his hearers, since they were de- 
livered with that frankness of speech which allows men to feel less 
hurt by the severity of the reproof, than interested by the point 
with which it is delivered, and conciliated by the evident absence 
of malignant intention. 

The modern admirers of Jesus, who can enter but slightly into 
Jewish interests in the time of Tiberius, might doubtless prefer to 
regard him in his character of moral instructor alone, and to sepa- 
rate the teacher on the Mount from the leader of ignorant Galilean 
multitudes, assuming David's titles and clearing the temple to the 
shouts of the populace. But it has been seen that a lofty and 
poetical enthusiasm, a religious patriotism promoted by the na- 
tional literature, more than the ordinary motives of the demagogue, 
probably impelled Jesus into those parts of his career which most 
embarrass his panegyrists. His enterprize in the main was one 



* I cannot find, in any of the miracles, reason to suspect that Jesus was 
concerned in a fraudulent scheme or contrivance. This low kind of art 
would render his character inexplicable ; and the supposition of it is unne- 
cessary, since it has been shown that those miracles which cannot be resolved 
into natural events probably owe their miraculous part to the exaggeration 
or invention of the narrators. 



346 ON THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

which must excite sympathy ; — to prepare men for freedom and 
regeneration by means of general reformation : and if he mingled 
with it secret hopes of a speedy expulsion of foreign tyrants, the 
lovers of mankind will lament his insufficient means rather than 
condemn the wish. 

It might be an extreme, however, to assert that Jesus was 
entirely devoid of those powerful ordinary stimulants, ambition 
and the love of distinction and sway. Religious humility is not 
equivalent to practical lowliness of spirit. The proudest kings 
and priests have used language equally submissive towards God, 
and haughty towards man ; and David's son, if he had reached 
David's throne, might have been, like his supposed progenitor, no 
less exacting of homage to himself than punctilious in rendering 
it to the King of heaven. The question, "Whom do men say 
that I the Son of Man am ?" was intended not only to gain infor- 
mation, but to elicit the confession on which the meek and lowly 
prophet bestowed such emphatic commendation, " Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God." He waived his own title to 
be called Good, and the right of bestowing seats in his kingdom ; 
but it was in favour of God himself. He denounced by a parable 
heavy judgments on those who would not have him to reign over 
them ; and it appears probable that the constant opposition of the 
Pharisees added vehemence to the reproofs which their hypocrisy 
merited.* Whilst recommending humility to his followers, he 
never ceased himself to exercise most absolute sway over them. 
The authority which mental ascendancy justly procures, he was 
inclined in the fullest degree to maintain : " Ye call me Master 
and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am." "But be not ye called 
Rabbi, for one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." 
Matt, xxiii. 8. He retires before superior physical force; but in 
no instance does he succumb in pretensions or bearing to tetrarch, 
priest, scribe, or pharisee. Indignation and anger are frequently 
displayed by him when his mission is opposed. Adversaries of 
the kingdom are unsparingly condemned to the outer darkness, 
where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The ready recur- 
rence to " the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not 
quenched," betokens the traces which a Jewish education, — the 
habit of dividing men into the Lord's people and the Lord's 
enemies, — might easily leave even on a mind possessing naturally 

* Matthew places the woes on the Pharisees shortly after they had suc- 
ceeded in repressing the enthusiasm of the populace at Jerusalem. 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 347 

much pure benevolence. " Go ye and tell that fox," breathes ra- 
ther a spirited defiance tban the passionless resignation with which 
Aristides submitted to exile. " The Son of Man is Lord even of 
the Sabbath," and "a greater than Solomon is here," show a de- 
termination to assert the full dignity of the Messiah at the risk 
of shocking even the religious prejudices of his hearers. It is 
singular that even two tales bearing strongly the legendary cha- 
racter, record somewhat harsh assertions of his prophetic dignity 
to his parents. Adversity brings out the more amiable features 
of the character : as Jesus met with disappointment and suffering, 
the more pleasing characteristics which he so largely possessed, 
sympathy with men's wants, consideration for their weaknesses, 
patience and fortitude amidst distresses, now form the traits by 
which he is most easily recognized. Yet after making all allow- 
ance for the tone of command and indignation which his assumed 
office and the conscious dignity of his character must frequently 
warrant, we seem to meet with indications that the Son of Man 
was formed like his brethren in this point also, that he might have 
felt some of the usual influence of power and success. The quali- 
ties which form a poet or a prophet are not those which make a 
firm and judicious temporal ruler ; Jesus in suffering, and Jesus 
in triumph, might have given different lessons to mankind: and 
if our chief interest be to preserve an attractive moral picture, we 
may perhaps feel inclined to rejoice that the tempter was never 
really permitted to expose Jesus to this most severe ordeal; that 
an untimely fate, in the world's sense, preserved him from being 
lost in a common crowd of kings and conquerors ; and that his 
kingdom remained that imaginary one, in which he was to be re- 
vealed on the clouds of heaven, or, as bis followers learned after- 
wards to express the dominion of his life and lessons, a kingdom 
not of this world.* 



* There have been three most distinguished regenerators in the Hebrew 
nation, Moses, Judas Maccabasus, and Jesus. Judas was the most suc- 
cessful in a military and political sense ; yet he is the least remembered. 
Jesus failed completely in this sense ; yet fame is too low a term to apply 
to him. A poor encouragement to the more vulgar conquerors who have 
not the assistance of legislative and philosophic merit, or of a noble cause, 
to sanctify their claims to fame ! Already the leading of men into any new 
domains of mind and heart is the enterprise which excites most interest. 
Is it not probable that in future centuries, far less interest will be felt by 
the majority of mankind in the histories of Alexander, Timour the Tartar, 
and Napoleon, than in those of George Fox, Wesley, St. Simon, or Owen \ 



348 OS THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, 

Whether the hard circumstances in which he was placed contributed 
or not to preserve the purity of bis character, it is indisputable that 
the pleasing features do strongly predominate. Upon the whole, 
we see in Jesus the singular example of a great and noble mind 
influenced by a kind of notions, which, when acting upon more 
ordinary men, produce mere visionaries or fanatics. The belief in 
divine missions, and the expectation of approaching miraculous 
revolutions, are not uncommon; but in most states of society they 
are found in conjunction with ignorance and a low degree of moral 
and intellectual power. A peculiar creed, literature, and national 
position, permitted these notions to be seized upon by a highly 
endowed mind; and that which, in connection with coarseness and 
violence, would have produced a savage and warlike fanatic, falling 
in with intellect, benevolence, and natural refinement, produced a 
benign and philosophic enthusiast. 

The scantiness and mixed nature of the four Gospels only per- 
mit us, after all, to gain a view far from perfect of the real cha- 
racter of Jesus. They relate chiefly to the short period of his public 
appearance ; the discourses introduced are made the vehicles for 
conveying the writers' thoughts on the controversies and events of 
their own times ; and the narratives are loaded with those mira- 
culous additions which, in the opinion of the authors, were 
calculated to do honour to the founder of their church. Few 
readers will be disposed to the labour of making the deductions and 
allowances required on these several accounts as they proceed in 
the perusal of the Gospels. All but the few whose taste lies in an 
obscure and usually uninteresting kind of investigation, will prefer 
one or other of the more decided courses, — of taking the books as 
full warrant for the truth of all that they contain, or of neglecting 
their study entirely. Hence, as no other account of Christ of 
equal authority is likely ever to appear, the view taken of him 
must probably continue to be partially erroneous. By the world 
in general, Jesus must continue to be regarded as the Christ of the 
four Gospels, i. e., a combination of the individual Jesus with the 
thoughts and feelings of the Christian Church after the fall of 
Jerusalem. Nor will the historical inaccuracy of such a view 
appear to any but critics important. The progress of thought 



The question in reference to Julius Caesar and Jesus Christ would have 
sounded more startling to Tacitus. The master of the Eoman world himself 
would not easily have believed that his own date would come to be com- 
puted according to the sera of a Jewish peasant. 



AND DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. 349 

amongst bodies of men presents matter of interest equally with 
the view of individual minds ; and we can excuse those interpola- 
tions and fictions, which, whilst they render more confused the 
aspect of the founder of the sect, present us with a view of that 
developed state to which his doctrines had arrived after an interest- 
ing and eventful interval. 

Enough is seen of Christ to leave the impression of a real and 
strongly marked character ; and the dimness, which is left around 
it, permits the exercise of the imagination in a manner both 
pleasing and useful. The indistinctness of the image allows it to 
become the gathering centre for all those highly exalted ideas of 
excellence which a more closely defined delineation might have 
prevented from resting upon it. To the superhuman powers 
attributed to him by his early followers, later admirers are at 
liberty to add all the qualities of mind and character which can 
delight and attract in a human being. To awaken men to the 
perception of moral beauty is the first step towards enabling them 
to attain it. But the contemplation of abstract qualities is diffi- 
cult; some real or fictitious form is involuntarily sought as a 
substratum for the excellence which the moralist holds to view. 
Whilst no human character in the history of the world can be 
brought to mind, which in proportion as it could be closely ex- 
amined, did not present some defects disqualifying it for being 
the emblem of moral perfection, we can rest with least check, or 
sense of incongruity, on the imperfectly known character of Jesus 
of Nazareth. If a representative be sought of human virtue, 
enough is still seen of his benevolent doctrine, attractive character, 
and elevated designs, to direct our eyes to the Prophet and Martyr 
of Galilee. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

COMPARISON OF THE PRECEPTS OF JESUS WITH THE 
JEWISH WRITINGS. 

The Jewish writings quoted for this purpose will be the Scriptures 
of the Old Testament ; the book of Ecclesiasticus by Jesus the son 
of Sirach, written about 200 years before Christ; and the most 
ancient Rabbinical writings,* viz.: 

The Talmud, which consists of two parts, the Mishna and the 
Gemara. The Mishna, or first Talmud, is a collection of Pharisaic 
traditions made by Rabbi Jehuda Hakkadosh, A.D. 141, f or, as 
some say, towards the close of the second century. The Gemara, 
or second part of the Talmud, consists of commentaries upon and 
additions to the Mishna, collected by Rabbi Jochanan ben Eliezer; 
and this edition completed the Jerusalem Talmud, A.D. 469. A 
similar collection was made at Babylon at the beginning of the 
sixth century, and called the Babylonian Talmud. 

The book Sohar, or the Brightness, containing mystical inter- 
pretations of the Old Testament, chiefly tbose of R. Simeon ben 
Jochai, whose disciples made this compilation about A.D. 170. 

The Midraschic books, containing collections of traditions, 
doctrines, and stories, derived trom the schools of interpretation. \ 
These collections were made by some Rabbins, whose names are 



* The quotations which follow, from the Rabbinical writings, are chiefly 
selections from the copious works of Schoettgen on this subject, Horse 
Hebraicas, and Jesus Verus Messias. 

f Lin do's Jewish Calendar. 

J After the Babylonish captivity the Jews founded a house of interpreta- 
tions, in which the Rabbis and their disciples assembled daily for the purpose 
of explaining the Scriptures. It is possible that the institution existed 
before the captivity, but there are no clear traces of it. The Rabbis sat on 
the higher seats ; the disciples on lower ones at their feet. The remaining 
space was occupied by the people or any persons who chose to come in to 
listen. The chief schools of this kind were at Tiberias, Cesarea, Lydda, 
Zippore, and Jafna. — Schoettgen. de Rabbin. Lectione ; Lightfoot, Centuria 
\ica, lib. i. 



COMPARISON OF THE PRECEPTS, ETC. 351 

unknown, about the time of Christ, and during the first, second, 
third, and fourth centuries. The names of the books are, 
Tanchuma, Eabboth, Pirke R. Eliezer, Mechilta, Siphra, Siphre, 
Pesikta Rabbetha, Pesikta Sotarta, Midrasch Schmuel, Tehillim, 
and Mischle. 

Since all these Rabbinical books were compiled after the time 
of Christ, it appears at first sight that no quotations from them 
can affect the question of the originality of the precepts of the 
Gospels. But it is unquestionable, that although the compilations 
are of these late dates, the sayings and traditions which they con- 
tain were much earlier ; and there are strong reasons for believing 
that they originated either before the time of Christ, or indepen- 
dently of any connexion with the writers of the New Testament. 
This point is considered at great length by Schoettgen, some of 
whose arguments I abridge below.* They appear sufficient to 



* The remaining books (besides the Mishna and Sohar) are more recent : 
yet they contain the words and doctrines of the most ancient Rabbis, who 
lived either before or about the time of Christ. The method of teaching 
then in use amongst the Jews was calculated to preserve not only the doc- 
trines, but the very words, of their masters. They were so scrupulous on 
this point, that in Sohar, Exod. fol. 36, he who alters the words of the law, 
or of a Rabbin, is threatened with exclusion from heaven. The exercise of 
the memory thus held such an important part in the education of the 
Pharisaic Jews, and their understandings were so buried beneath a heap of 
doctrines, that they made but a poor figure in matters requiring the free use 
of the judgment. 

If any one allege that the more recent Rabbins may have borrowed from 
the New Testament, I will not dispute on this point ; but that the older 
ones, quoted in the Talmud and the Midraschim, had read the New Testa- 
ment, and borrowed many things from it in order to impose upon the 
Christians, appears very improbable for many reasons : 1. They hated the 
Gentiles and their religion so much, that they did not consider their books 
worth reading, fearing also lest they should be seduced by them from their 
own faith. 2. The Jews were too inferior to the Christians in critical and 
philological skill to attempt such plagiarism. 3. The Jews of the first cen- 
turies could not foresee that Drusius, Lightfoot, and other critics, would 
in the course of time explore their writings, and collate them with the New 
Testament. 4. They themselves allow that the Gemara is written in such 
an obscure manner, that they never expected that the Christians could pene- 
trate into its mysteries. 5. The books of the Talmud and the others con- 
tain those same errors and faults of the Pharisees which Christ reprehended. 
If, then, the writers had read these things in the New Testament, it is hardly 
credible that they would have inserted them in their writings, and thereby 
have afforded a testimony to the truth of the words of Christ. 

Moreover, there occur subjects and opinions peculiar to the ancient Jewish 
Church before and during the time of Christ. It appears, then, that Christ 



352 COMPARISON OF THE PRECEPTS OF 

establish it as a general truth, that it is extremely improbable that 
the ancient Rabbins borrowed from the New Testament ; conse- 
quently, although the want of an exact Rabbinical chronology 
must prevent our laying much stress on particular coincidences, 
the close resemblance of a large proportion of the Gospel precepts 
to many of those found in these books, leads us to infer that such 
precepts were not unknown to the Jews in the time of Christ, and 
might have proceeded very naturally from one assuming at that 
time the office of public instructor. 



Matt, v. 3 : " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of 
heaven." 

Prov. xv. 32 : " Before honour is humility." 

xvi. 19 : " Better to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than 
to divide the spoil with the proud." 

xxix. 23 : "A man's pride shall bring him low, but honour 
shall uphold the humble in spirit." 

Micah vi. 8 : " What doth the Lord require of thee but to do 
justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ?" 

Pirke Aboth. c. iv. 4: "Rabbi Levites Jafnensis said, Let it 
be thy chief desire to be of an humble spirit, for the hopes of man 
are as a worm." 

Sanhedrin,* fol. 43, 2 : " R. Jehuda ben Levi said, Whilst the 
temple stood, if any man offered a holocaust, he obtained the 
reward of a holocaust; if an oblation, he obtained the reward due 
to an oblation. But if a man be of an humble spirit, the Scrip- 
ture considers him as having offered all sacrifices." 

and his apostles did not entirely reject the good things which they found 
amongst the Jews, but used them felicitously against the Pharisaic abuses, 
thus slaying their adversaries with their own weapons, in which proceeding 
the wisdom of Christ is not sufficiently recognized by those ignorant of this 
kind of learning. — Sclwettgen. de Lectione Habbinorum. 

The 3rd and 4th reasons are intended to meet the strained objection that 
the Rabbins might have borrowed from the New Testament with a view to 
mislead the Christians as to the originality of the precepts. That these 
precepts were borrowed on account of their merit is a more simple and ob- 
vious objection. But the other arguments are strongly against it : the 
temper shown by the Jews, as related in the Acts, and for some centuries 
later, leaves little doubt that the origination of a precept by the Nazarenes 
would have been a strong reason for rejecting it. But on the other hand 
the Christians were eager to quote Jewish authorities. 

* One of the sixty-one Tracts of the Mishna. 



JESUS WITH THE JEWISH WRITINGS. 853 

Tanchuma, fol. 84, 4: "The law is not with those of a large 
spirit, but with him whose mind is contrite." 

Matt. v. 4 : " Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." 
Psalm cxlvii. 3 : " He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth 

up their wounds." 

Isaiah lxi. 1 — 3 : " The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because 

the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek, 

to comfort all that mourn, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the 

oil of joy for mourning." 

Ver. 5 : " Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." 
Psalm xxxvii. 11:" But the meek shall inherit the earth, and 
shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." 

Ver 6 : "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, 
for they shall be rilled." 

Isaiah lviii. 10, 11: "If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, 
and satisfy the afflicted soul, . . . the Lord shall guide thee con- 
tinually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones, 
and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and a spring of water 
whose waters fail not." 

Ver. 7 : " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," 
Schabbath, fol. 151, 2: (tract of the Mishna) "Whosoever 
hath mercy on men, on him also God hath mercy. But he who 
sheweth no mercy to men, neither to him will God shew mercy." 

Ver. 8 : "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 

Psalm xxiv. 3, 4 : "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? 
and who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands 
and a pure heart" 

Isaiah xxxiii. 15, 16: "He that walketh righteously, and 
speaketh uprightly ... he shall dwell on high." 

Philo de Essreis : " They have attained the highest holiness in 
the worship of God, not by sacrificing animals, but by cultivating 
purity of heart." 

Ver. 10: " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, 
for their' s is the kingdom of heaven." 

Synopsis Sohar, p. 92 : " It is pleasing to the righteous to suffer 
afflictions on account of God, for thus are they freed from this 
state of exile." 



354 COMPARISON OF THE PRECEPTS OF 

Matt. v. 14 : " Ye are the light of the world." 

Aboth R. Nathan, c. 24 : " When Rabban Jochanan ben Zaccai* 
was near death, he wept loudly. His disciples said to him, Rabbi, 
thou high pillar, light of the world, weighty hammer, why dost 
thou weep ?" 

Ver. 16 : "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your 
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." 

Prov. iv. 18: " But the path of the just is as the shining light, 
that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 

Mechilta, fol. 27, 2 : " Simeon ben Eliezer said, When the 
Israelites do the will of God, then his name is glorified in the 
world." 

Ver 18 : "For verily 1 say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot 
or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." 

Schir haschirim rabba, fol. 26, 1 : " R. Alexander said, Although 
all men in the world should gather together to whiten one plume 
of the raven, they could not effect it. So, although all men should 
assemble to abolish Jod, which is the least letter in the law, they 
could not succeed." 

Ver. 22 : " "Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." 

Sohar, Exod. fol. 50, col. 299 : " R. Chiskias said, Whosoever 

calleth his neighbour resho, wicked, he is thrust into hell (Gehenna.") 

Ver. 24 : " First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy 
gift." 

Berachoth, fol 23, 1 (tr. Mishna) : " Be not as the fools, who 
sin, and offer a sacrifice, but yet do not the works of repentance. 

Ver. 25: ' 'Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way 
with him, lest," &c. 

Sohar chadasch, fol. 22, 2 : " R. Tanchum said, Come and see. 
How much ought a man to beware of sins, whilst the ways to re- 
pentance are yet open to him, before the way be closed !" 

Ver. 28: "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath commit- 
ed adultery with her already in his heart !" 

Sepher Raisel haggadol, fol. 9, 2 : " If, therefore, thou re- 
strainest thy soul, and lookest not on women, thy reward shall be 
double." 

* He presided at Jafna soon after the fall of Jerusalem. 



JESUS WITH THE JEWISH WRITINGS. 855 

Baminidbar rabba, sect. 9, fol. 203, 3, and Tancnuma, fol. 61, 
2 : " Our Rabbins said, If a woman whilst she is with her hus- 
band, directs her heart to some one else whom she hath seen in the 
street, there is no greater adultery. 

Matt. v. 29: " It is profitable for thee that one of thy members should 
perish, and not that thy whole body shoiilcl be cast into hell." 

Targum Hierosol. Genes, xxxviii. 26, in Jalkut Rubeni, fol. 65, 
1 : " Judah speaks thus, It is better for me that I should be burned 
in this world with a little fire, than that I should be burned in the 
world to come with the devouring flame." 

Ver. 34, 37: i( I say unto you, Swear not at all, ... let your communica- 
tion be Yea, yea ; Nay, nay : for whatsoever is more than these, cometh of 
evil." 

Philo de Essseis : " They lead a life of continued purity, un- 
stained by oaths and falsehoods." 

Josephus de Ess. : " Whatsoever they say also is firmer than an 
oath ; but swearing is avoided by them, and they esteem it worse than 
perjury; for they say that he who cannot be believed without 
swearing by God, is already condemned." 

Bammidbar rabba, sect. 22 : " God said to the Israelites, Think 
not that ye are allowed to swear by my name, even though ye swear 
rightly." 

Midrasch ruth rabba, sect. fol. 42, 4 : " R. Huna said in the 
name of R. Samuel ben Isaac, the yea of the righteous is yea and 
their no is no." 

Ver. 36: " Thou canst not make one hair' white or black." 
Sepher Rasiel Haggadol, fol. 10, 2: " In the days of thy youth, 
who hath made thy hair black ? If thou shouldst wash it with all 
kinds of nitre and borith, thou canst not make one hair black, nor 
canst thou whiten one hair ; and yet in thy old age all thy hairs 
become white." 

Ver. 38, 39: " Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, 
and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil." 

Prov. xx. 22 : " Say not thou, I will recompense evil ; but wait 
on the Lord, and he shall save thee." 

Prov. xxiv. 29: " Say not, I will do so to him, as he hath done 
to me."* 

* The tone of the whole chapter in Proverbs is, however, very different 
from that in Matthew. Ver. 16 —20 show that a forgiving spirit was not 
the motive acknowledged by the writer. 



356 COMPARISON OF THE PRECEPTS OF 

Matt. v. 39 : '• Whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek," &c. 
Bava Kama, tol. 92, 2 (tr. Mishna) : " For what is the proverb 
which is commonly said ? If thy neighbour calleth thee ass, place 
upon thyself an ass's saddle. For thus it is written, Genesis xvi. 
8, Return to thy mistress, even though thou be much vexed by 
her." 

Ver. 42 : "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow 
of thee turn thou not away." 

Eccles. iv. 5 : " Turn not thine eye away from the needy." 
Deut. xv. 8: " But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy 

poor brother, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need." 
Jos. de Ess. : " Every one of them gives what he hath to him 

that wanteth it." 

Ver. 43 : "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy 
neighbour and hate thine enemy." 

Midrasch Tehillim, fol. 26, 4 : " R. Isaac said, Show not bene- 
volence nor mercy to the Gentiles." 

Pesachim, fol. 113, 2 (tr. Mishna): R. Samuel ben Isaac says 
from the mouth of Raf, that it is allowed to hate him in whom any 
one observes a base action, although not to give witness against 
him." 

Aboth R. Nathan, c. 16: " Let not a man accustom himself to 
say, Love the wise men, and hate their disciples ; love the disciples, 
and hate the rude multitude ; but love all men, and hate the Epi- 
cureans, who impel men into errors." 

Taanith, fol. 7, 2 (tr. Mishna) : " Speaking of the stiffnecked 
and shameless, R. Nachman ben Isaac said, It is allowed to hate 
him." 

See also among the Karaites, R. Elijahu in addereth, according 
to" Triglandius, p. 167: " But for men who commit injuries, and 
never return with benefits so as to obtain forgiveness, it is nowise 
forbidden to be avenged on them, and to keep anger against them." 

On which Triglandius observes, " It is clear from hence who 
those were, ' of old time,' to whom Christ opposes his ' I say,' viz. 
not the law, but those who, contrary to the law, were so sparing 
of their philanthropy." And Schoettgen adds, " Although the 
Karaites were much better than the Pharisees, yet we see traces 
of remarkable corruption amongst them." 

Ver. 44: " Love your enemies." 

Schabbath, fol. 88, 3 (tr. Mishna) : " Our Rabbins deliver to us, 



JESUS WITH THE JEWISH WRITINGS. 357 

They who receive scorn, but scorn no man ; who hear reproaches, 
and return them not ; who show love to men, and rejoice in tribu- 
lations, — of them the Scripture saith, They shall love him, and 
be as the sun going forth in his might." 

Aboth R. Nathan, c. 23: " He is a hero who maketh his enemy 
a friend." 

Siphra, fol. 174, 1 : "If thou seest an Israelite who rejoices in 
the adversity of his enemy, he is perfectly impious." 

Matt. v. 31: " Bless them that curse you." 

Sanhedrin, fol. 48, 2 ; 49, 1 : " R. Jehuda said from the mouth 
of Raf, They say thus in the common proverb, Suffer thyself to be 
cursed, but do not thou curse others." 

Ver. 44 : " Pray for them which despitefully use you." 
Sohar Genes, fol. 67, col. 263 : " It is commanded a man, that 
he pray for the impious, so that they may be converted for the 
better, and not descend into hell." 

Ver. 45; " That ye may be the children of your Father which is in 
heaven." 

Debarim rabba, sect. 7, fol. 259, 3 : " R. Jehuda ben Sallum 
said, God said to the Israelites, If ye wish to be known as being 
my children, attend to the law and to good works, then all shall 
know that ye are my children." 

Ver. 45: "And sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.' 

Taanith, fol. 7, 1 : (tr. Mishna) : " R. Afhu said, The day on 
which rain is sent, is greater than the resurrection of the dead, for 
this pertains to the just alone ; but rain to the just and impious." 

Taanith, fol. 23, 2 : " When once the earth was suffering from 
drought, the Rabbins sent the boys from the school of Raf to 
Chone ; and they, taking the hem of his garment, said, Give us rain. 
But he said before them, Lord of the whole world, do so for the 
sake of them who as yet know not the difference between a Father 
who can, and one who cannot, give rain." 

Sohar Exod. fol. 70, col. 277 : " God in this world feeds and 
preserves all things, the just and pious, and all the sons of 
men." 

Ver. -16: "If ye love them which love you, what thank have ye ? do not 
even publicans the same ?" 

Luke vi. 35: " Do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again." 

Pirke Aboth, c. v. 10 : " There are four classes of men. One 



358 COMPARISON OF THE PRECEPTS OF 

says, What is mine is mine, and what is thine is thine : this is a 
middling class, and some say that the people of Sodom were such. 
Another says, What is mine is thine, and what is thine is mine : 
of such are the common people. He who says, What is mine is 
thine, and what is thine let it be thine ; — he is pious. But he who 
says, What is thine is mine, and what is mine let it be mine ; — he 
is impious." 

Matt. vi. 1 : " Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of 
them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven." 

Sohar, fol. 4, 1 : " Whosoever lendeth to any one in public, with 
him God dealeth according to justice. But he who does it secretly, 
with him dwelleth the divine blessing." 

Bava bathra, fol. 10, 2 (tr. Mishna) : " All alms and mercy done 
by the heathens are sins to them, since they do them only to ob- 
tain glory thereby." 

Ver. 3: "When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know not what thy 
right hand doeth." 

Bava bathra, fol. 10, 1 : " What are the alms which free from the 
second death 1 Those which the giver • knows not to whom he 
gives." 

Vir. i: Thy Father which seeth in secret." 

Breschith rabba, sect. 85, fol. 84, 1 : " God said, Ye are able to 
testify of things done openly, but I of things done in secret." 

Sota, fol. 3, 1 (tr. Mishna, p. 80, Wagenseil) : " There is a tra- 
dition, that R. Meir* said, A man commits a sin in secret, but God 
divulges it openly." 

Synopsis Sohar, p. 94 : " Whatsoever things are performed in 
secret, on them rests the blessing from above. But if a thing be 
done publicly, the blessing does not rest upon it." 

Pirke Aboth, c. iv. 4 : " B. Jochanan ben Bruka* said, Who- 
soever profaneth the name of God in secret, he shall be punished 
openly." 

Ver. 6 : "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet." 

Tanchuma, fol. 22. 2 : " R. Benjamin ben Levi said, If any one 
sitteth apart, or in his closet, and studieth the law, I will make 
him known to men." 



They nourished soon after the siege of Jerusalem. 



JESUS WITH THE JEWISH WRITINGS. 359 

Sohar Genes, fol. 114, col. 454 : " It is not needful that a man 
pray aloud, but he ought to pray in a low tone, so that his word3 
may not be heard." 

Matt. vi. 7 : " Use not vain repetitions." 

Eccles. vii. 14 : " Use not many words in a multitude of elders, 
and make not much babbling when thou prayest." 

Berachoth, fol. 61, 1 : " Let the words of a man always be few 
before the face of God." 

R. Elijahu the Karaite in Triglandius de Secta Karseorum, 
p. 168 : " In vain will any one multiply idle words (in Hebrew the 
same as Matt. xii. 36) in his prayers." 

Ver. 9 : " Our Father which art in heaven." 

Bammidbar rabba, sect. 17: " God is the Father, and the Israel- 
ites are his children." Then follows the proof that God had 
performed all the peculiar parental offices for Israel, viz. teaching 
the law, supplying food, &c. 

Ver. 9 : " Hallowed be thy name." 

Eccl. xxiii. 9 : " Use not thyself to the naming of the Holy 
One." 

That the same formula of prayer was known to the Jews, is 
shown by a quotation from their ritual books, by Vitringa de 
Synagoga Vet. lib. 3, p. 962. " His great name be magnified, 
and hallowed in the world, which he created according to his 
pleasure, and may his kingdom reign. May his redemption spring 
forth, and the anointed (Messiah) quickly come, and deliver his 
people." 

Sohar Exod. fol. 55, col. 217: "There is no sanctification in 
heaven, unless there be sanctification on earth." 

Sohar Deut. fol. 127, col. 503 : " When the number of sins is 
increased on the earth, then the holy name is not glorified on 
earth."* 



* Schoettgen remarks here, " Let it not be said that I maintain that 
Christ borrowed his prayers from the Jews, which opinion is very far from 
mine. For Christ, who is true God, consubstantial with the Father, has 
infinite wisdom, through which, even in the state of inanition, he was far 
wiser than all men, and therefore he cotdd easily have prescribed a thousand 
formulas different from those of the Jews. But it pleased his wisdom to 
retain those things which he found to be good amongst the Jews, in which 
thing we, his followers, properly acquiesce." 



360 COMPARISON OF THE PRECEPTS OF 

Matt. vi. 10 : ' Thy kingdom come." 

Sanhedrin, fol. 28, 2 : " E. Jehuda and K. Seira both said, 
Prayers which say nothing concerning the kingdom, do not deserve 
the name of prayers." 

Sohar Genesis, fol. 103, 409 : " When a man goeth to bed, first 
of all he ought to take unto himself (in se suscipere) the kingdom 
of heaven. Afterward, let him recite one or another kind of 
prayer." 

Ver. 10 : " In earth, as in heaven." 

Sohar Exod. fol. 28, col. 110, 111: "God wills that his name 
be glorified on earth, as it is glorious in heaven." 

Sohar Exod. fol. 33, col. 131 : " When the Israelites approached 
Mount Sinai, angels came to them ; these are the angels in heaven, 
and the Israelites are the angels on earth ; they hallow the divine 
name in heaven, the Israelites hallow it on earth." 

Ver. 11 : " Give us this day our daily bread." 
Prov. xxx. 8 : " Feed me with food convenient for me." 

Ver. 12 : " Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." 
Eosch haschana, fol. 17, 2 : "A man borrowed from another, 
and fixed a time for re-payment before the king, and swore by the 
life of the king. When the time was past, and he could not pay 
his debt, he came as a suppliant to the king, who said, What thou 
hast done against me is forgiven thee ; but go to thy creditor, and 
seek forgiveness also of him. The same proceeding is held with 
respect to the sins committed by a man against God, and those 
which he commits against his neighbour." 

Joma, fol. 85, 2 (tr. Mishna) : "E. Eleazar ben Azaria* gave 
this opinion : The day of expiation expiates the things which a 
man hath committed against God; but the things which he hath 
committed against his neighbour it doth not expiate until he hath 
returned into favour with him." 

Synopsis Sohar, p. 90, n. 79: "A man ought every night to 
forgive the fault of him that offendeth him." 

Ver. 13 : " For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for 
ever." 

1 Chron. xxix. 11: "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the 
power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty : for all 






* Soon after the fall of Jerusalem. 






JESUS WITH THE JEWISH WRITINGS. 



361 



that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine ; thine is the king- 
dom, Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all." 

Matt. vi. 14: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly 
Father will also forgive you." 

Eccles. xxviii. 2 : " Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he 
hath done unto thee ; so shall thy sins also be forgiven when thou 
pray est." 

Ver. 17 : " When thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face." 
Breschith rabba,* sect. 74, fol. 73, 1 : " Speaking of Isaac 
mourning for Joseph, R. Levi and R. Simeon said, He wept in his 
house, but when he came into public he washed and anointed him- 
self, he ate and drank. But why did he not do that openly ? God 
answered, Although he himself hath not made the thing manifest, 
yet I will make it manifest." 

Ver. 19, 20 : " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth but 

lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." 

Eccles. xxix 11 : " Lay up thy treasure according to the com- 
mandments of the Most High, and it shall bring thee more profit 
than gold." 

Berachoth, fol. 33, 2 : " R. Chanina said, from the mouth of 
R. Simeon ben Jochai, " In the treasury of God there is no trea- 
sure but that of the fear of God, as Esaias saith, xxxiii. 6, The 
fear of God is his treasure." 

Bava bathra, fol. 11, 1 : " The brethren of King Mombazus 
reproached him for dilapidating the treasures of his ancestors, to 
which his fathers had always added. He replied, My fathers 
collected treasures on the earth, but I in heaven : my fathers laid 
up treasures in a place where the hand (of man) could rule them,, 
but I lay up in a place whither no hand can reach." 

Ver. 25 : " Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye 
shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life 
more than meat, and the body than raiment?" 

Psalm lv. 22 : " Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall 
sustain thee ; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." 

Philo de Ess. : " They eat no food more costly than coarse bread 
seasoned with salt . . . and drink no liquid but the clear water of 
the stream." 



A part of the Midraschic book Eabboth. 



362 COMPARISON OP THE PRECEPTS OF 

Matt. vi. 26 : " Behold the fowls of the air : for they sow not, neither do 
they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them." 

In the Gemara, Jerusalem Talmud, Kidduschin, according to 
Buxtorf's Lexicon, col. 2028, " Hast thou ever seen a lion carrying 
burdens, a stag gathering the summer fruits, a fox planting, or 
a wolf selling olives ? And yet they are fed without labour. But 
why were they created ? To serve me. And why was I created ? 
To serve my creator. Hence, from the less to the greater I con- 
clude : if those creatures which are created to serve me are fed 
without labour, should not I rather, who was created to serve my 
creator ? What is the cause, then, for which I am compelled to 
obtain my food by labour ? Answer, My sins." 

Ver. 30 : " ye of little faith." 

Mechilta, fol. 32, 1 : " He who created the day, created also the 
food thereof. Wherefore B. Eliezer said, Whosoever hath whereof 
to eat for to-day, and saith, But what shall I eat to-morrow? he is 
of little faith.'''' 

Sota, fol. 48, 2, p. 1075 edit. Wagenseil : "There is a tradition 
that R. Eliezer, surnamed the Great, said, Whosoever keepeth a 
mouthful remaining in his canister, and saith, What am I to eat 
to-morrow? he is of those who are little in faith." 

Sohar Exod. fol. 26, col. 102 : "All the children of the world 
look up and raise their eyes to God — nay, even all the believers 
seek every day their food from God, and on that account pour 
forth their prayers to God. What is the reason ? This, — he who 
calleth on God for his food, he causeth the world every day to re- 
ceive a blessing. Wherefore a man ought not to cook his food for 
the next day, nor to reserve any thing from to-day for the morrow. 
But he who asketh food only for to-day, he is called a man o/ 
faith." 

Ver. 33 : " But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 
and all these things shall be added unto you." 

Berachoth, fol. 35, 2 : " Whilst the Israelites do the will of 
God, their labour is performed for them by others ; but when they 
do not the will of God, then they are compelled to do their labours 
with their own hands." 

Avoda Sara, fol. 19, 2: "R. Joshua ben Levi said, Whosoever 
giveth labour to the law, his wealth is increased." 

Ver. 2 : "With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged." 
Schabbath, fol. 127, 2: "Our Rabbins have delivered to us: 



JESUS WITH THE JEWISH WRITINGS. 363 

He who judgeth his neighbour by the way of equity, of him shall 
others judge in the same manner." 

Matt. vii. 11 : " If ye then, being evil," &c. 

Breschith rabba, sect. 33, fol. 32, 1 : "In a time of drought, a 
man who had divorced his wife was seen to give her money. R. 
Tanchuma said to him, ' Why hast thou given her money V The 
man answered, ' I saw that she was living miserably, and was filled 
with pity for her.' In that same hour R. Tanchuma raised his 
face to heaven, saying : ' Lord of all worlds, see what is done ! 
When that woman had no food, this man saw her in her affliction, 
and was filled with compassion for her. But thou art he of whom 
it is written, Thou art merciful and kind ; and we are the sons of 
thy beloved, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; how much the rather 
oughtest thou to be filled with compassion towards us !' Imme- 
diately rain descended, and the earth was revived." 

In Vajikra rabba, sect. 34, fol. 179, 1, the words of Tanchuma 
are as follows : " Lord of the whole world ! this is a miserable and 
cruel man, and yet he hath been filled with compassion," &c. 

Ver. 12 : " Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should 
do to you, do ye even so to them : for this is the law and the prophets." 

Tobit iv. 15 : "Do that to no man which thou hatest." 
Aboth B. Nathan, c. 15: "As a man wisheth himself to be 
honoured, so let him shew the same honour to others. And as a 
man doth not wish to hear himself ill spoken of, so let him beware 
of speaking ill of others." 

Ver. 14: " Few there be that find it." 

The doctrine of the small number of them that were saved was 
held by the Jews. 

Succa, fol. 45, 2 : " R. Jeremias said from the mouth of R. 
Simeon ben Jochai, I saw the sons of the feast (the blesssed), who 
were very few in number. If there are a thousand, I and my son 
are of the number; if a hundred, I and my son are of the number; 
if two, 1 and my son are they." 

Ver. 21: " But he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." 
Pirke Aboth, c. ii. 4 : " R. Gamaliel* said, Do the will of God 

* R. Gamaliel the elder, the preceptor of Paul, died A.D. 52. E. Gamaliel 
the second, or of Jafna, nourished soon after the fall of Jerusalem. 



364 COMPARISON OF THE PRECEPTS OF 

as thine, so that lie may do thy will as his. Lay aside thine own 
will for the sake of his, so that he may render vain the will of 
others for the sake of thine." 

Matt.vii. 24: "Whosoever beareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them." 
Vajikra rabba, sect. 35, fol. 179, 4 : " It is a tradition of E. Chija, 
We learn the law, that we may do it. He who hath learned, and 
doeth not, it would have been better if he had not been created. 
E. Jochanan said, He who hath learned, and doeth not, it would 
have been better if he had not seen the light of this world." 

Debarim rabba, sect. 7, fol. 259, 2 : " E. Simeon ben Chelpatha 
said, He who hath learned the words of the law and doeth them 
not, is more guilty than he who hath learned nothing. A certain 
king sent two gardeners into his garden : the one planted trees, but 
afterwards cut them down ; the other planted nothing, and cut 
down nothing. With which of these was the king wroth ? Was 
it not with him who planted and cut down ?'.' 

Ver. 24, 25 : " I will liken him to a wise man And the rain 

descended, and the floods came, and winds blew," &c. 

Pirke Aboth, c. iii. 17: " E. Eleazer ben Azariah said, He 
whose knowledge is greater than his works, to whom is he like ? — 
to a tree, whose branches are many, but his roots few, and the wind 
rushing upon it teareth it up. But he whose works are greater 
than his knowledge, to whom is he like ? — to a tree whose branches 
are few and his roots many, against which if all the winds in the 
world should beat, they cannot move it from its place." 

Ver. 16: "Wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." 

Schir Haschirim rabba, fol. 15, 3 : " E. Jehuda the son of E. 
Simon said, God said concerning the Israelites, Towards me they 
are harmless (integri) as doves, but towards the nations cunning 
(astuti) as serpents." 

Ver. 28: " Fear not them which are able to kill the body, but are not able 
to kill the soul." 

Jos. de Ess. : " Their doctrine is, that bodies are corruptible, 
but that the souls are immortal and continue for ever ; . . . and 
when they are set free from the bonds of the flesh, they then re- 
joice and mount upwards." 

Ver. 35: " For I am come to set a man at variance against his father," &c. 

Sota, fol. 49, 2 : " A little before the coming of Messias, the 

son shall provoke the father, the daughter shall rise against her 



e 



JESUS WITH THE JEWISH WRITINGS. 365 

mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law ; finally, 
each shall have his enemies in his household." 

Sanhedrin, fol. 97, 1, ex versione Edzardi : " R. Nehorai said, 
In the age when the Messiah shall come, the young men will scorn 
the face of the elders, the elders will stand against the young men, 
and the daughter against her mother-in-law, and the men of that age 
Avill have faces as dogs (impudence), nor will the son revere his 
father."* 

Matt. xii. 34: " Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." 
Sepher rasiel haggadol, fol. 10, 1 : " The tongue uttereth the 
hidden secrets of the heart, whether they be good or bad." 

xviii. 4: "Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is 
greatest," &c. 

Tanchuma, fol. 36, 4 : " R. Ame said, It is great glory to a 
young man, when he becometh as little children." 

Bava Mezia, fol. 84, 2 (tr. Mishna) : " Whosoever maketh him- 
self little on account of the words of the law in this world, he 
becometh great in the world to come." 

Ver. 7: " Wo unto the world because of offences." 

Sohar Genes, fol. 33, col. 132 : " Wo to the world, for they are 
stupid in heart, and with closed eyes, so that they understand not 
the mysteries of the law." 

Ibid. fol. 37, col. 146 : " Wo to the world, for they have eyes, 
and see not." 

xix. 17: "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." 
Eccles. xix. 19 : " The knowledge of the commandments of the 
Lord is the doctrine of life ; and they that do things which please 
him shall receive the fruit of the tree of immortality." 

xx. 26, 27 : " Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your 
servant." 

Philo de Ess. : " They have no slaves among them, but all are 
free, and all in their turn administer to others." 

xxii. 2 — 10 : Parable of the marriage of the king's son. 
Sohar Levit. fol. 40, col. 158 : " A king made a splendid 
feast, and said to his servants, Ye have been every day at your 

* The whole of this is. probably, an enlargement of Malachi iv. 6, and 
Micah vii. 6. 



866 COMPARISON OF THE PRECEPTS OF 

homes ; one hath pursued his work, another hath gone to his mer- 
chandize, a third to his field. But on this day, when ye ought all 
to take part in my joy, I will not that ye attend to your work, or 
your merchandize, or your fields, but ye ought all to be in readiness, 
for the day is mine." 

Matt. xxii. 7 : " But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth ; and he 
sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city." 

Tanchuma, fol. 86, 3 : " Know that the king is wroth with you, 
and will send his legions against the city, and destroy it." 

Ver. 21 : " Unto God the things that are God's." 

Pirke Aboth, c. Ill, 7 : " R. Eleazer Bartolensis said, Give to 
him (God) of his own, since whatsoever things thou hast are his." 

Ver. 30 : " In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in mar- 
riage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." 

Berachoth, fol. 17, 1 : " Raf frequently had these words in his 
mouth, In the world to come they will neither eat nor drink, nor 
beget children, nor carry on trade ; neither envy, nor hatred, nor 
strife, is there ; but the just will sit encircled with crowns, and will 
rejoice in the splendour of the divine majesty." 

Sohar Chadasch, fol. 20, 1 : " All the souls of the just are in 
the seventh heaven, and become ministei'ing angels, and celebrate 
God." 

Ver. 36 : "Which is the great commandment in the law?" 
Neither Lightfoot nor Schoettgen quotes any Rabbinical sayings 
corresponding with the answer of Jesus.* 

Ver. 40 : " On these two commandments hang all the law and the 
prophets." 

Deut. iv. 5 : " And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." 

Levit. xix. 18: "Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge 
against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bour as thyself." 



* Mendelsohn relates the following story, Jems. vol. ii. p. 110 : " Kabbi," 
said a pagan to Hillel the elder (who lived in the century before Christ), 
" wilt thou teach me the whole law while I am standing on one leg ?" Hillel 
replied, " Son, love thy neighbour like thyself. This is the text of the law ; 
all the rest is commentary Now go thy ways and study." 



JESUS WITH THE JEWISH WRITINGS. 367 

Matt, xxiii. 8 : "Be not ye called Rabbi." 

Nedarim, fol. 62, 1 (tr. Mishna). A tradition concerning the 
words of Deut. xxx. 20 : " Let not a man say, I will apply diligently 
to the study of the law, so that they may call me Rabbi ; I will 
attend to the Talmud, so that I may become an Elder, and obtain 
a place in the academy. But thou shouldest study from the love 
of God, and at length honours will be attained." 

Ver. 23 : " The weighter matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith." 

Hosea vi. 6 : " For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice ; and the 
knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." 

Mark vii. 8 : " Laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the 
tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups : and many other such 
like things ye do." 

Sota, fol. 4, 2 : " R. Serika said from the mouth of R. Eliezer, 
Whosoever neglecteth his washing, he is rooted out of the world. 
R. Chija ben Ase said from the mouth of Raf, If any one useth 
the first water (i. e. before eating) he must raise his hands ; but 
if he useth the latter water, he must hold his hands downward." 

Mark xii. 44 : " She of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her 
living." 

Sohar, fol. 3, 1 : " A poor man's sacrifice is by far the most 
pleasing to God, for he offereth two sacrifices ; one, the sacrifice 
itself; the other, inasmuch as he offers his own nourishment and 
blood ; for he hath nothing to eat, and yet he offereth sacrifice." 

Luke xi. 41 : " But rather give alms of such things as ye have, and 
behold all things are clean unto you." 

Isaiah lviii. 6,7: " Is not this the fast that I have chosen ? to 
loose the bands of wickedness .... is it not to deal thy bread to 
the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy 
house ? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him ; and that 
thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh ? Then shall thy light 
spring forth as the morning," &c. 

Luke xii. 19, 20 : " And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much 
goods laid up for many years : take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of 
thee." 

Eccles. xi. 19 : "Whereas he (the rich man) saith, I have found 
rest, and now will eat continually of my goods ; and yet he knoweth 



368 COMPARISON OP THE PRECEPTS, ETC. 

not what time shall come upon him, and that he must leave those 
things to others and die." 



Notwithstanding the striking resemblance thus shown between 
a great part of the Gospels and the Rabbinical writings, it is im- 
possible not to acknowledge a general superiority in the former. 
Not only are particular precepts delivered with greater force, but 
the whole collection is, for the most part, free from the trifles and 
absurdities which abound in the latter : and where a difference or 
contrast occurs, liberality and good sense usually predominate on 
the side of Jesus. He appears to have been well acquainted with 
the doctrines which proceeded from the Jewish schools ; but, unlike 
the Pharisees, he claimed the privilege of independent thought in 
selecting, altering, or adding to them; the Messiah was entitled 
to neglect the usual servile method of literal quotation, and to set 
his own " I say " above the authority of any Eabbin. A teacher 
thus assuming an office which could allow him to neglect the 
charge either of plagiarism or of heresy, would have at the same 
time the advantages arising from the use of stores already provided, 
and those resulting from the free exercise of the mind's own powers. 
A system of doctrine proceeding under such circumstances from a 
character like that which we have endeavoured to trace, might be 
expected to present a remarkable combination both of peculiarities 
and of excellences. The selection of the most striking features 
from collections of written and traditional precepts is, probably, 
best performed by the quick intuitive sense of powerful minds, 
unburdened by extensive learning, and whose original energy has 
not been repressed by an habitual submission to scholastic forms 
and authorities. The preceptive part of the Gospels appears be- 
fore us as the result obtained by the sifting of the Jewish scrip- 
tures and of the lessons of the Jewish schools by such a mind, and 
by the infusion of fresh and purer material from its own resources. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

Whatever be the spirit with which the four Gospels be ap- 
proached, it is impossible to rise from the attentive perusal of them 
without a strong reverence for Jesus Christ. Even the disposition 
to cavil and ridicule is forced to retire before the majestic simplicity 
of the prophet of Nazareth.* Unlike Moses or Mahomet, he owes 
no part of the lustre which surrounds him to his acquisition of 
temporal power ; his is the ascendancy which mankind, in propor- 
tion to their mental advancement, are least disposed to resist — that 
of moral and intellectual greatness. Besides, his cruel fate engages 
men's affections on his behalf, and gives him an additional hold 
upon their allegiance. A noble-minded reformer and sage, mar- 
tyred by crafty priests and brutal soldiers, is a spectacle which 
forces men to gaze in pity and admiration. The precepts from 
such a source come with an authority which no human laws could 
give; and Jesus is more powerful on the cross of Calvary than he 
would have been on the throne of Israel. 

The virtue, wisdom, and sufferings of Jesus, then, will secure 
to him a powerful influence over men so long as they continue to 
be moral, intellectual, and sympathizing beings. And as the 
tendency of human improvement is towards the progressive in- 
crease of these qualities, it may be presumed that the empire of 
Christianity, considered simply as the influence of the life, charac- 
ter, and doctrine of Christ over the human mind, will never cease. 

The most fastidious scepticism is forced to admit the truth of 
the facts, which such a view of Christianity requires. For no one 



* Paine calls him a virtuous reformer. 

" II fallait Men qu'au fond il fut un sage, puisqu'il cleclamait contre les 
pretres imposteurs, et contre les superstitions ; mais on lui impute des choses 
qu'un sage n'a pu ni faire ni dire." — Voltaire's xx. Dialogue, by the Abbe de 
Tilladet. 

Mendelsohn says, that intelligent Jews consider Jesus as a generous 
enthusiast. Jerusalem, vol. ii. 

Y 



370 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

who regards historical evidence will deny that such a person was 
put to death in Judea, and that he gave rise to a new system of 
religion. The four Gospels on these points are strengthened by 
many other testimonies, agree with each other, and contain rela- 
tions conformable to the order of nature. Moreover, the excellence 
of the preceptive parts of the Gospels carries with it its own 
evidence in all ages. 

But when a higher office is claimed for Christ, that of a mes- 
senger accredited from God by a supernatural birth, miraculous 
works, a resurrection, and an ascension, we may reasonably expect 
equal strength of evidence. But how stands the case ? The four 
Gospels on these points are not confirmed by testimony out of the 
church, disagree with each other, and contain relations contrary to 
the order of things. The evidence on these points is reduced 
to the authority of these narratives themselves. In them, at least, 
the most candid mind may require strong proofs of authenticity 
and veracity; but again, what is the case? They are anonymous 
productions ; their authorship is far from certain ; they were written 
from forty to seventy years after the events which they profess to 
record ; the writers do not explain how they came by their infor- 
mation ; two of them appear to have copied from the first ; all the 
four contain notable discrepancies and manifest contradictions; 
they contain statements at variance with histories of acknowledged 
authority ; some of them relate wonders which even many Christians 
are obliged to reject as fabulous; and in general they present no 
character by which we can distinguish their tales of miracles from 
the fictions which every church has found some supporters ready 
to vouch for on its behalf. 

In these books, and by the propagators of Christianity, the 
miraculous part of Christ's history is presented to us not as an 
indifferent fact, but as one which is to influence our whole life and 
conduct : the belief or non-belief of it is even to decide our con- 
dition in another world : we are called upon to count all things as 
loss for the sake of Christ: "He that believeth in his heart 
that God hath raised him from the dead shall be saved;" "He 
that believeth not shall be damned." One would have expected 
that the clearness of the evidence would have been in propor- 
tion to the necessity for belief, and that a fact of which the 
recognition was requisite to the salvation or improvement of 
mankind in after ages, would have been attested in such a 
manner as to leave no doubt of it in any reasonable mind. 
Mark, or the person who has finished his Gospel for him, 
would have done more to promote belief, if, instead of threat- 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 371 

ening damnation on the want of it, he had explained the ap- 
parent contradictions between his account and Matthew's ; — how 
it was that the latter sends the eleven disciples into Galilee, whilst 
the others seem to represent them as remaining at Jerusalem ; 
why Matthew omitted all notice of the ascension ; where and when 
Jesus was seen by the five hundred brethren mentioned by Paul ; 
and especially how he and his fellow evangelists obtained their 
information. But the fact is, that the accounts of Christ's resur- 
rection are in so imperfect and slovenly a state, that the evidence 
afforded by them would be hardly deemed sufficient to establish an 
ordinary fact of any importance in a court of judicature. The 
accounts of the crucifixion are very circumstantial, and agree in 
the main so well, that we should have no difficulty in admitting 
this as a fact, even if it were not confirmed by Tacitus, Suetonius, 
and the Jews. But when .he writers come to the account of the 
resurrection, on which, from its not being confirmed by heathen or 
Jewish testimonies, from its deviation from the laws of nature, 
and from the great importance attached to the belief of it, we 
should have looked, from their hands at least, for the fullest, 
clearest, and most accordant evidence, — here we find the story 
replete with confusion, contradiction, and chasms, and even to be 
made up apparently of fragments of different dates. 

If the resurrection of Christ were necessary, as is pretended, to 
account for the rest of his history, and the origin of Christianity, 
the attempts made to strain out a consistent account of it from the 
materials before us, by inventing supplementary facts ad libitum, 
might deserve some attention. But there is in reality no such 
necessity. The order of nature, the combination of human feelings 
and motives at the particular juncture in question, have been shown 
to be enough to account for the life and death of Jesus, and the 
proceedings of his followers. And whatever be our disposition to 
show deference towards Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, or the 
persons writing under their names, the inquirers for truth are 
obliged to ask, Who are these that we should believe them in con- 
tradiction to the known order of nature, and receive from them, as 
indubitable truth, stories which, coming from other mouths, we 
should reject at once as palpable fiction ? Where are the proofs 
of their caution, judgment, and veracity ? How are we assured 
that they could neither be misled, nor attempt to mislead ? They 
vouch for the resurrection of Christ ; but who shall vouch for 
them, and certify that they were so far different from the rest of 
men as to be void of credulity, and incapable of mistake or false- 
hood ? What witness is there to prove that they were so insensible 



372 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

to common human motives, as to "be incapable of gratifying their 
love of the marvellous, and of serving their own cause, and that of 
their church, by either adopting or inventing " idle tales ?" 

That the resurrection of Jesus was intended as a pledge to man- 
kind of a general resurrection, is a delightful idea. But the only 
safe basis for such a belief is historical evidence. If this fail to 
establish the fact, the agreeable nature of the belief is so far from 
proving it, that it rather furnishes an explanation of the general 
prevalence of the belief in the face of insufficient. evidence. 

It is not pretended that the foregoing pages prove the absolute 
impossibility of Christ's miracles and resurrection. If we be so 
determined, we may still indulge in the belief of them, by over- 
looking difficulties, inventing hypotheses, and concluding that the 
whole is a trial of our faith. But if the reasoner will still hold 
the reality of these miracles, to what scheme must he have re- 
course ? That God has caused a deviation from the course of 
nature for the instruction of mankind, and has left the account of 
it to be conveyed to them by means which, on the closest examina- 
tion, occasion it to bear a strong resemblance to human fictions ; 
a supposition so monstrous and perplexing, that, notwithstanding 
the value of the supposed lesson, our minds turn at last from this 
mode of teaching in weariness, and resolve to be contented to learn 
where we are sure, at least, that the lessons proceed from God him- 
elf — and that is in nature. 

The miraculous birth, works, resurrection, and ascension of 
Christ, being thus successively surrendered, to be classed amongst 
the fables of an obscure age, what remains of Christianity ? and 
what is there in the life and doctrine of Jesus that they should 
still claim the attention and respect of mankind in remote ages ? 
This : Christianity forms a striking passage in the history of 
human nature, and appears as one of the most prominent of the 
means employed in its improvement. It no longer boasts of a 
special divine origin, but shares in that which the Theist attributes 
to the world and the whole order of its events. It has presented 
to the world a system of moral excellence ; it has led forth the 
principles of humanity and benevolence from the recesses of the 
schools and groves, and compelled them to take an active part in 
the affairs of life. It has consolidated the moral and religious 
sentiments into a more definite and influential form than had be- 
fore existed, and thereby constituted an engine which has worked 
powerfully towards humanizing and civilizing the world. 

Moreover, Christianity has given currency to the sublime doc- 
trines of man's relationship to the Deity, and of a future state. 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



373 



The former was a leading feature of Judaism, and the latter of 
Platonism. Christianity has invested them -with the authority of 
established principles, and thereby contributed much to the moral 
elevation of mankind. 

It is impossible to disguise the momentous consequence of the 
rejection of the divine origin of Christianity — that a future state 
is thereby rendered a matter of speculation, instead of certainty. 
If Jesus was not seen after he was risen, we no longer see immor- 
tality brought to light ; the veil which nature has left before this 
mysterious subject, still remains undrawn; and, like the Jews, 
and all heathen nations, we are compelled to rest satisfied with the 
conjectures to which reason alone can attain. "With respect to one 
of the subjects most interesting to man, we return into the position 
in which the whole race stood for four thousand years, and in which 
a great part has remained ever since. 

The withdrawal of a proof on which we had relied is not, how- 
ever, equivalent to a disproof. The arguments of natural reason, 
on behalf of a future state, still remain; and when it is recognized 
that these are all which the order of things allows of, the mind 
which feels the want of this doctrine may learn to dwell upon them 
with increased interest, and to be content with that degree of evi- 
dence on this point which has been compatible with the happy 
existence of many generations of men, and with the tranquility of 
many virtuous and reflecting minds in all ages. Christianity has 
added, at least, so much light to the subject, that it has shown, on 
a large scale, the effect which the belief of this doctrine has upon 
the character ; and if it be allowed that this effect is the strength- 
ening and refinement of virtue, there arises an additional and 
strong presumption of the truth of the doctrine.* 



* If the mind be supposed to be distinct from the brain, the dissolution 
of the latter affords no argument against the continued existence of the 
former. And even if the mind be considered to be merely a function of the 
brain, the objection arising hence to a future life of individuals is not of 
much weight. For. with our present imperfect knowledge of the ultimate 
composition and structure of the particles of the brain, we cannot tell 
whether the portions of it supposed to be connected with identity, con- 
sciousness, moral and intellectual power, may not contain some provision 
for transmitting these functions to entirely different forms of matter after 
death. Since these same principles are continued in or transferred to suc- 
cessive accretions of matter during life, there is no absurdity in supposing 
that after death the transference may be made to an entirely new recipient. 
The revival of the mental powers after sleep, or cerebral injuries, shows that 
these powers may be, for a time, to all appearance gone, and yet be capable 
of renewal with all those characteristics which give the common notion 



374 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

Yet if all the efforts of reason should end in demonstrating the 
mere probability of a future state, what must be our conclusion ? 
That certainty on this point is not at present necessary, nor even 
desirable for men ; and that the objects of their existence in this 
world are best answered by their having an obscure rather than a 
clear view of another. Whilst it was thought that Jesus had 
brought the guarantee of heaven for man's immortality, we per- 
suaded ourselves that this was necessary to men's improvement 
and happiness. We were mistaken ; no such guarantee has been 
given-; it is wise still to acquiesce, and to conclude that happiness 
and improvement are best promoted by our present ignorance. 



of identity. Now, we can imagine that the lethargy should continue long 
enough to allow of the whole, instead of a part, of the particles of the body 
being replaced by new ones, and yet that the consciousness of identity 
might return ; a case very nearly approaching that of the supposed trans- 
ference in the case of death. 

Hence the objections to a future life of individuals, on physical grounds, 
seem only to amount to this,— that we are as yet ignorant of the means by 
which it could be brought about. But ignorance of this kind is so frequent, 
even with respect to many very palpable facts, that it forms but a slight 
argument against a well-urged possibility ; and incredulity with respect to 
the doctrine in question must proceed from its improbability, as arising 
from other than physical considerations. 

But it can hardly be denied, that the moral considerations, viz. the 
desire for immortal life peculiar to man, his curiosity with respect to the 
cause and end of his own existence, his conceptions of perfection, his ten- 
dency to connect himself with the Deity and the invisible world, the 
strength of human attachments, the sufferings of good men, and the like, — 
do make out a case deserving of much attention. These facts are of a 
different kind from those on which scientific conclusions rest, but are not 
therefore to be regarded as a less sure basis for reasoning. On the con- 
trary, we might naturally expect, that the evidence of a future existence of 
man would arise out of facts connected with his mental and moral constitu- 
tion : in which case it is probable, that only with the perfection of this part 
of his nature will the evidence on this subject appear in the clearness which 
produces certainty. 

That the Divine mind bears some resemblance to the human, is shown 
by the contrivances in the creation, of which many are similar in kind, 
although higher in degree, to the indications of human art and skill. The 
same correspondence of thought and feeling, if the terms may be used, is 
seen in the apparent ends and objects of the contrivances. This fact of a 
resemblance being thus established in respect to qualities which we know 
to belong to the human mind, we may reason the other way, and infer that 
the human mind bears a resemblance to the Divine, with respect to the 
attributes which we know to belong to the latter. The permanence of the 
creation indicates the immortality of the Deity ; hence arises a probability 
that the human mind, in those parts at least which resemble the Divine, is 
immortal also. 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 375 

It is undeniable that, to reflecting and religious minds, the re- 
moval of the authority of revelation does at first seem to leave a 
blank on the subjects of the human condition and destiny which 
no reasoning can fill up. Those who had been accustomed to look 
to the New Testament as their only light, see nothing but confu- 
sion when it is taken away, and are tempted to look at human 
existence as a waste, of which both the beginning and the end are 
lost in darkness. It was natural, however, that in their anxiety 
to appreciate the supposed revelation, men should do injustice to 
the world and nature. When they are compelled to part with the 
former, these gradually resume their claims, and remind them that 
their position here, regarded for itself alone, is replete with interest 
and enjoyment. The return of first one object of pleasing thought, 
and then another, forces upon them the conviction of the high pri- 
vilege of existence ; and the withdrawal into obscure remoteness 
of the future eternal life, may even leave them the more free to 
appreciate the advantages of their present more limited but more 
accessible sphere. The eye which fails to distinguish heaven falls 
contentedly into the more easy contemplation of the beauties of 
earth. A thicker veil being thrown before the incomprehensible 
joys of a future state, the mind returns to count over more earnestly 
the blessings within its immediate reach, and is surprised at the 
extent of its almost unheeded riches. It perceives that to live is 
gain. In accustomed occupations, or favourite pursuits ; in its 
relationships and intercourse with mankind ; in the perpetual 
novelty arising from the vicissitudes of national or individual ljfe ; 
in the free admission either to behold or take part in the great 
drama of the world ; or in the tranquil cultivation of its powers, 
or exercise of its affections — it recognizes abundant and ever- 
varying stores of enjoyment, requiring only its own energy to be 
immediately worked out. The voice of mankind, as well as of 
books, still captivates the attention ; the hill and the river still 
delight the eye ; solitude soothes, and society interests ; and the 
mind, acquiring a keener perception of happiness from its review, 
is startled into the admission, that the heaven which it looked for- 
ward to in the remote distance is already close at hand. 

But this is the language of prosperity. Christianity is pre- 
eminently the religion of adversity ; and what can compensate the 
afflicted for the loss of the assurance of those mansions where Jesus 
is preparing a place for them ? Even here it may, perhaps, be re- 
cognized, that the compensation supplied by nature and the mind's 
own resources had not been sufficiently estimated. The list of the 



376 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

pleasures arising out of adversity, and of which this alone can 
awaken the perception, is large enough to induce us to suspend 
the wish that there should be no gloomy side to the human condi- 
tion. The consciousness of fortitude developed by emergencies, 
and of refinement of character produced by reverses ; increased 
opportunities for the interchange of the kindly sympathies ; and 
the enlargement of views proceeding from an acquaintance with 
the most diversified aspects of life ; — afford pleasures felt to be so 
substantial, that few men probably, on calm consideration, would 
consent to have the dark pages of their history replaced by the 
most brilliant ones. 

Yet it must be owned that there are states in which all such rea- 
sonings are felt to be insipid, and in which the human mind feels 
a deeper want, — that of Christianity, or of something equivalent 
to it. And why may not such a state itself bring with it the con- 
soling convictions which itself requires, and be regarded as nature's 
silent but powerful argument, which she has framed in such a man- 
ner that its force shall only be understood in proportion as the 
want of it is felt ? The extreme evils to which individuals are 
exposed, during the slow progress of the race towards perfection, 
form too conspicuous a feature in the history of man to be over- 
looked in our review of the final causes of his condition. Why 
should we not regard these evils, not as unavoidable or permitted 
imperfections, but as ordained* for a direct and adequate object, 
to convey a solemn lesson, and to complete the evidence — imperfect 
if prosperity were the invariable human condition — for an existence 
beyond the grave? Prosperity is satisfied with the glaring surface 
of this world's picture, and neglects futurity: adversity leads aside 
to the contemplation of a more hidden scene, and discloses the 
necessity and value of a future state. Christianity itself pro- 
ceeded from a nation in deep adversity ; out of the distresses of 
Israel issued the cry for immortality. May we not regard all irre- 
mediable earthly afflictions as intended to suggest Christianity to 
each sufferer, and to whisper, that there must be a Father in 
heaven, and mansions of the blessed ? 

It has not unfrequently happened, that the untutored feelings of 
mankind have anticipated the results of philosophic investigation. 
Nature has spoken first ; reasoning and science have followed 



The distinction between permitting and ordaining must vanish in the 
of a Creator both omniscient and omnipotent. 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 377 

slowly with a confirmation of her voice. Men had not been long 
upon the earth before the ideas of a great Father of the universe, 
and of a region of spirits, began to develop themselves. In this, 
as in every case which exhibits the progress of truth, rational doc- 
trines have had to force their way through a primeval chaos of 
dark and mis-shapen notions ; and Christianity exhibits the shape 
to which the workings of the human kind had brought these ideas 
at a certain stage of the world's progress. The extensive attain- 
ments of science in later ages have tended to confirm the former 
great doctrine ; but hitherto philosophical research has not fallen 
upon the avenues which lead to the development of the latter. 
Science and philosophy are, however, yet in their infancy, and 
especially as regards their application to subjects supposed to be 
connected with morality and religion. The belief that Kevelation 
has assumed these subjects as her own peculiar ground, has hitherto 
impeded the growth of free inquiry upon them amongst nations 
most competent to the task.* Released from this restraint, and 
having unbounded scope to traverse the creation in search of evi- 
dence, mankind may reach points in moral discovery which at pre- 
sent would be at once pronounced visionary. The achievements of 
mechanical and chemical science may be equalled or outdone by 
those of moral and intellectual research ; and a clearer confession 



* Whenever any great revolutions in opinion have been in progress, it has 
appeared to many that the ties of morality were being unloosed, and that 
the mental world was falling into the darkest confusion. Such was the 
idea of the heathens whilst Christianity was throwing down their venerable 
ancient deities. Eunapius, a heathen sophist, who wrote in the time of the 
emperor Theodosius I., giving an account of an Egyptian philosopher 
named Antoninus, says, " He foretold to all his disciples that, after his death, 
there would be no temples, but that the magnificent and sacred temple of 
Serapis would be laid in ruinous heaps, and that fabulous confusion and 
unformed darkness would tyrannize over the best parts of the earth. All 
which things time has brought to pass." 

We see at present the incipient upheavings of another of these revolutions 
— the subversion of the belief in miraculous revelations, and the gradual 
advance of a system of natural religion, of which we cannot yet predict the 
whole creed, but of which we may already perceive two essential features, 
the recognition of a God, and that of an inherent moral nature in man. As 
the clearing away of the antiquated piles of the old law made way for the 
simpler structure of faith in Christ, so will the release from the exclusive 
authority of written precept enable men to hear more distinctly the voice 
of the moral nature within them. Eeformed Judaism will be succeeded 
by reformed Christianity, and each change appear the transition to a more 
perfect law of liberty. 



378 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

be forced out of nature concerning the character of the Creator, 
and the ultimate destination of man. In the mean time may it 
not be, that the feelings of the human heart have anticipated the 
laborious operations of the intellect, and that Christianity has 
taken the advance of philosophy in ministering to the deepest 
wants of man ? 

Let not, then, the mind which is compelled to renounce its be- 
lief in miraculous revelations deem itself bound to throw aside, at 
the same time, all its most cherished associations. Its generous 
emotions and high contemplations may still find an occasion for 
exercise in the review of the interesting incidents which have for 
ever consecrated the plains of Palestine ; but it may also find 
pleasure in the thought that, for tbis exercise, no single spot of 
earth, and no one page of its history, furnishes the exclusive theme. 
Whatever dimness may gather from the lapse of time and the ob- 
scurity of records about the events of a distant age, these capabi- 
lities of the mind itself remain, and always will remain, in full 
freshness and beauty. Other Jerusalems will excite the glow of 
patriotism, other Bethanies exhibit the affections of home, and 
other minds of benevolence and energy seek to hasten the approach 
of the kingdom of man's perfection. Nor can scriptures ever be 
wanting — the scriptures of the physical and of the moral world — 
the book of the universe. Here the page is open, and the lan- 
guage intelligible to all men ; no transcribers have been able to 
interpolate or erase its texts ; it stands before us in the same 
genuineness as when first written ; the simplest understanding can 
enter with delight into criticism upon it ; the volume does not close, 
leaving us to thirst for more, but another and another epistle still 
meets the inquisitive eye, each signed with the author's own hand, 
and bearing undoubted characters of divine inspiration. Unable 
at present to comprehend the whole, we can still feel the privilege 
of looking into it at pleasure, of knowing a part, and of attempting 
the opening of further leaves. And if, after its highest efforts, 
the mind be compelled to sink down, acknowledging its inability, 
in some parts, to satisfy itself with any clear conclusion, it may 
remain serene at least, persuaded that God will not cause any soul 
to fare the worse for not knowing what he has given it no means 
to know. Enough is understood to enable us to see, in the Uni- 
verse itself, a Son which tells us of a Father, and in all the natural 
beauty and moral excellence which meet us in the world an ever- 
present Logos, which reveals the grace and truth of its invisible 
source. Enough is understood to convince us that, to have a place 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 879 

on this beautiful planet, on almost any terms, is an unspeakable 
privilege ; that virtue produces the highest happiness, whether for 
this or another world ; and that there does exist an encircling mys- 
terious Intelligence, which, as it appears to manifest its energy in 
arrangements for the general welfare of the creation, must ensure 
a provision for all the real interests of man. From all our occa- 
sional excursions into the abysses of the unseen world, and from 
all our efforts to reach upwards to the hidden things of God, both 
reason and piety bid us return tranquilly to our accustomed corner 
of earth, to use and enjoy fully our present lot, and to repose im- 
plicitly upon the higher wisdom in whose disposal we stand, whilst 
indulging the thought that a time is appointed when the cravings 
of the heart and of the intellect will be satisfied, and the enigma 
of our own and the world's existence be solved. 



APPENDIX, 



Page 37. 

Jahn's Biblical Antiquities, translated by Upham, sec. 261, describes the 
process of death under crucifixion, as extracted from a dissertation by Geo. 
Gottlieb Bichter, a German physician. 

In addition to the unnatural position of the body, the loss of blood, and 
inflammation of the parts wounded, he says : " On those parts which are 
distended or pressed, more blood flows through the arteries than can be 
carried back into the veins. The consequence is. that a greater quantity of 
blood finds its way from the aorta into the head and stomach, than would 
be carried there by an undisturbed circulation. The blood-Tessels of the 
head become pressed and swollen. The impulsion of the blood in more than 
ordinary quantities into the stomach is also unfavourable to life, because it 
is that "part of the system which not only admits of the blood being sta- 
tionary, but is peculiarly exposed to mortification. The aorta not being at 
liberty to empty in the usual free and undisturbed way the blood which it 
receives from the left ventricle of the heart, is unable to receive its usual 
quantity. The blood of the lungs, therefore . is unable to find a free circu- 
lation. This general obstruction extends its effect also to the right ventricle, 
and the consequence is an internal excitement, exertion, and anxiety, which 
are more intolerable than the anguish of death itself. All the large vessels 
about the heart, and all the veins and arteries in that part of the system, 
on account of the accumulation and pressure of blood, are the source of 
inexpressible misery. The degree of anguish is gradual in its increase, and 
the person crucified is able to live under it, commonly till the third, and 
sometimes till the seventh day." 

C. F. F. Gruner, "de Jesu C. morte vera non Syncoptica, Jena 1800," 
argues that Jesus possessed probably a healthy constitution of body, from 
his habit of living in the open air and of frequent travelling ; but that the 
presentiment of his fate, and the harassing scenes attending his apprehen- 
sion, would have had a depressing effect on his physical strength. " Se- 
quuntur alia graviora vim vitae deprimentia. Addictus cruci, pugnis ac 
palmis conrusus, corona spinea, cinctus misereque laceratus, nudus et ad 
columnam adstrictus, casditur ante loris et flagris, ut moris Eomani erat. 
Qu£e cum essent aculeata, taxillata, et ossiculis catenata, et miseri ad necem 
usque flagellati ministrorum immanitate* haud raro perierunt, quin sub 



Ulpian de Pcenis, I. iii. Euseb. H. E. iv. 15. Philo in Flaccum. 



382 APPENDIX. 

ipsS, deductione stimulis* crudeliter atque petulanter adigerentur, conse- 
quens est, ut Christum fame ac vigiliis lassum, ex vulneribus crebris aggrum, 
et a sanguine vacuum, summa teneret debilitas. Auxit sine dubio legalis 
crucis gestatio crudos cutis laceraa dolores, attrivitque ulterius vires, denique 
perfecit malum crux ipsa erecta, cui crudeliter adstrictus et adfixus erat, 
clavis per manus et pedes actis. Hinc vehementissime exacerbati sunt 
dolores et ad omne corpus diffusi, hinc post hasmorrhagiam largam loca 
sugillata, inflammata et in gangrsenam prona, hinc magna circuitus san- 
guinei turbatio, hinc immensa sanguinis ad pulmones et cor congestio facta, 
eaque, ni omnis fallor, surnmas anxietatis auctor et effectrix fuit, quam 
clamore magno prodidisse videtur, illico mortuus." He continues to this 
effect, " The things hitherto related, however, do not occasion speedy death, 
for some lived several days ; another cause for the unexpected dissolution 
must be sought, viz. : Syncope, by which the vital power was paralyzed, 
and all life appeared to be extinguished. Syncope not unfrequently precedes 
or brings on real death, unless proper means of recovery are adopted.f 
Christ being placed in a cold and rocky tomb, tending to congeal the blood, 
would probably have expired rather than revived." 

But the thrust of the spear, if historical, is a more evident and sufficient 
cause of death. " In some parts, and especially if not forcible, it might 
not wound fatally. The soldier, holding his lance in his right hand, would 
probably pierce the left side of Jesus, where the weapon might meet the 
lungs, the pericardium, the heart, and the great artery. On the right side 
the lance might meet the lungs, the vena cava, and the azygoi ; behind, the 
thoracic duct. In any case the blow, if forcible, would in all probability 
inflict death, either immediate or inevitable within a short time." 

" The lungs, if pierced, might have given forth some blood, but not water. 
Most probably the blood came from one of the ventricles of the heart ; the 
water from the pericardium." Gruner offers no explanation of the difficulty 
that the blood and water should flow out separately so as to be distinguished 
~by a bystander ; a difficulty which others could explain only by resorting to 
to a miracle. Strauss has remarked that the quantity of liquid from the 
pericardium, except in dropsical cases, is so small that its flow would not 
strike the eye ; besides, that there is only one small space in the forepart of 
the chest where the pericardium could be struck so that its liquid contents 
should flow outwards ; in all other cases it would spread into the interior of 
the cavity of the chest. He adds, that as the blood does not separate into 
the serum and clot in the body itself, but only some time after being drawn 
from it, the writer may have added this incident of the issue of blood and 
water with a view to prove that Jesus was really dead, a proof however 
resting only on his own misconception of the medical fact. 

The vehement asseveration which follows, (/'And he that saw it, bare 
record, and his record is true ; and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye 
might believe," ver. 35) Strauss considers to apply to this issue of blood 
and water, which was indeed the last circumstance mentioned. Yet it is 



* Plaut. Mostellar. Act i. Sc. i., v. 52—54. 

f Bschenbach says that in syncope the blood is still flowing, but more 
slowly; that true stories of revivals from this state usually place them 
within one or two days ; and that cases of three days or a week rest on no 
good authority. 



APPENDIX. OSd 

possible that this solemn testimony was intended to apply to the whole 
scene just related, viz. : that the legs of the thieves were broken, but Jesus 
himself pierced with a spear ; for these two are evidently the points which 
conduce to the writer's object, to make his readers "believe," being, as he 
pretends to discover, the fulfilment of the Scriptures. The flow of blood 
and water is not necessary for this purpose, and therefore would not require 
so much stress to be laid upon it ; although it is true that he might have 
introduced this embellishment from the erroneous idea alluded to. 

I hesitate to admit that the whole scene was invented in order to fulfil 
these two texts, because — lstly : They are unconnected sentences from re- 
mote parts of Scripture, and, although there is some evidence that the latter 
had been applied by the Eabbins to the Messiah, it was unnatural to think 
of framing a story so as to bring together the fulfilment of both ; whereas 
the incidents being historical, it was natural to collect applicable texts 
wherever they could be found. 2ndly ; The circumstances have strong 
inherent probability ; for it being necessary to remove the bodies, the soldiers 
must be sent to despatch the criminals ; and if the lifeless appearance of 
Jesus caused them to pause for a moment, nothing could be more natural 
than for one of these Eoman soldiers speedily to make the case sure by 
means of the spear which he held. 

Supposing for a moment that, after all, life was not extinct in Jesus, it is 
reasonable to believe that he woidd have required at least equal medical 
care with the Mend of Josephus, whose recovery was by no means easy. 
He would not have been able to walk about the country after two days, as 
the subsequent legends represent. Consequently none of these legends 
coincide in any manner with the hypothesis that he still lived. None of 
them represent him as giving his parting directions in a posture or situation 
which we can reconcile with the idea of an extremely debilitated frame. 



Page 89. 

A passage in Macrobius has been sometimes cited in support of Matthew's- 
story of the children. Among the jests of Augustus, is the following ; 
" When he heard that among the children within two years of age which, 
Herod hing of the Jews commanded to be slain, in Syria, his own son had 
been killed, he said, ' It is better to be Herod's hog than his son.' " 

Macrobius wrote about A.D. 400, when the Gospel of Matthew was 
generally known throughout the empire ; and if he did write these words, 
from what other source is it likely that he could have borrowed them ? 

But the passage bears the strongest marks of forgery. Macrobius was 
in all probability a Heathen ; and why should he go out of his way to give 
such a careful confirmation to one of Matthew's most questionable passages 2 
No Heathen or Christian writer has stated that Herod killed a son under 
two years of age. Alexander, Aristobulus, and Antipater, whom he caused 
to be put to death, were all young men. The saying of Augustus would 
therefore be equally witty, and more true, without any allusion to the 
infants of Bethlehem. 

As the transcribers of the empire became Christian, we can imagine the 
temptation they must have felt to render such an easy but essential service 
to their new faith, as the manufacturing of Heathen and Jewish testimonies. 
Macrobius was likely to receive the same treatment as Josephus. 



384 APPENDIX. 

Voltaire says (Philos. torn, iv.), but without naming his authority, that 
the ancient copies of Macrobius had not the clause in question. 



Page 113. 

The length to which this volume has extended prevents the insertion of 
the whole of the notes on which the assertions respecting the Gospels of 
Mark and Luke are grounded ; but the following will explain the method 
of examination adopted. 

Notes on the comparison of Matthew and Mark. 

No. 1. That one borrowed from the other. 

2. That Mark borrowed from Matthew, rather than the converse. 

3. That Matthew borrowed from Mark, rather than the converse. 

4. Apparent arbitrary alterations by Mark. 

5. Amplifications, or exaggerations, upon Matthew's text. 

6. Independent information of Mark. 

7. Passages which appear to be omitted by Mark, rather than added by 

Matthew in the use by the one of the other's \ 

8. That Mark used a Hebrew copy of Matthew. 

9. That he used the present Greek copy. 



In the accounts of John the Baptist, Mark's appears to be that of 
one who had read or heard Matthew's often enough to be well 
acquainted with it, although he could not repeat the whole verbatim. 
Hence most of the verses in Mark agree with separate ones in 
Matthew, although in a different order. 

No. 2. The only thing additional in Mark is a quotation from Malachi, 
"Behold, I send my messenger," &c. It is very likely that Mark 
having heard this prophecy applied to John elsewhere, should thiuk 
it worth while to add it to the one from Isaiah quoted by Matthew. 
But it is unlikely that Matthew, who was so intent upon the pro- 
phecies, should omit this, if he found it ready prepared for him. 

No. 2, 7. Mark omits the reproof of the Pharisees and Sadducees, " gene- 
ration of vipers." Throughout his Gospel he appears to dislike copy- 
ing long discourses, and this reproof of two Jewish sects would seem 
to him the part least interesting to his own readers. He passes on to 
the most important part, the promise of the one mightier. 

If Matthew had been copying from Mark, he would probably have 
also put this important part first, and the reproof would have fol- 
lowed or stood isolated ; but it not only comes first, but coheres 
well with the parts before, ver. 6, and after, verses 11, 12. The more 
important thus grows out of the Jess important. To interweave the 
reproof in this apparently original manner upon Mark's narrative, 
implies more art than it is reasonable to attribute to Matthew, who 
could have no motive for taking so much pains here ; whereas 
Mark's account is a very natural abridgment of Matthew's. 



APPENDIX. 385 

7. Mark omits the addition to the baptism with the Holy Ghost, " and 
with fixe ;" also the threat of unquenchable fire. In Matthew they 
form an easy continuation of ver. 10. 

7. The dialogue between Jesus and John, in which the former says, 
"Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness," is not in Mark, 
whose motive for omitting it might have been an unwillingness to 
lay so much stress upon baptism before his Gentile readers. 
No. 2, 7. In the temptation, the discourses with the devil are omitted by Mark; 
but as he begins and ends with nearly the same phrases as Matthew, 
his account seems to be merely an abridgment of the latter. The 
only thing added by Mark is, " he was with the wild beasts," which 
might be merely an idea suggested by Matthew's word, "wilderness." 

8 ? Mark calls the devil " Satan," instead of Sia(3o\os. the word in Mat- 
thew. Still, as the word Satan does occur in Matthew's dialogue, 
the instance is not of much force. The term Satan was no doubt as 
familiar to the Greek Christians as it is to us. 

5. Mark i. 14, 15 ; his own paraphrase of Matt. iv. 12, 17 ; " Eepent ye, 
and believe the Gospel," is more suitable to Mark's own time, than 
to the beginning of Jesus's preaching. 
1, 9. Mark i. 16—20. 

5. Ibid. 19, 20 : Going " a Little further thence," and leaving Zebedee 
"with the hired servants," are very natural additions to Matthew. 
It might have occurred to Mark that Matthew's statement, " they 
left the ship and their father," sounded harshly. 

7. Mark passes over the sermon on the Mount, but adopts Matthew's 
closing sentence, " They were astonished at his doctrine ; for he 
taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." This 
agrees with his usual disinclination to copy long discourses. He 
speaks of this teaching as being in the synagogue of Capernaum, 
instead of on a mountain ; but as Matthew had previously mentioned 
Capernaum as Jesus's residence, iv. 13, this slight discrepancy 
might arise from a negligent way of epitomizing rather than from 
independent information. 

5. Mark i. 23 — 28, a story of casting out an unclean spirit, not in Mat- 
thew, but apparently suggested by Matt. iv. 21, "He healed those 
which were possessed with devils." For Mark's verse 28, compared 
with Matt. iv. 23, 25, renders it probable that he had this part of 
Matthew before him, or in his remembrance. The story expresses 
rather the general notions of the church concerning the power of 
Jesus over unclean spirits, than circumstances which indicate reality. 
There must have been many such stories current, and Mark seems 
here to relate one in order to give the general character of the cures 
mentioned by Matthew. 

From this place to Matt. xiv. 1, Mark's order disagrees frequently 
with Matthew's, although separate parts and stories agree closely. 
This may be accounted for thus ; many of Matthew's stories were 
generally known to the church from tradition, and consequently to 
Mark, who had besides the advantage of having heard Peter. At 
first, therefore, he did not intend to be a mere abridger of Matthew, 
but introduced the stories as he remembered them, or as seemed to 
him best, turning to Matthew only to help him out with the details 
of each. By this means he accustomed himself to depend upon 



386 APPENDIX. 

Matthew, and, by the time he arrived at his sixth chapter, he found 
it the easiest plan to paraphrase or even copy him continuously ; 
for Matthew's was a very full collection, and contained ready for 
use nearly all that he himself could say. But he still omitted or 
added in some places. 
No. 6. Mark i. 29. In the cure of Peter's mother-in-law, he mentions the 
house as that of Simon and Andrew, and that James and John were 
there, which has the appearance of independent information. But 
ver. 30, 31, 32, show so plainly his disposition to amplify, that it 
may be doubted whether Matthew's expression, "ministered unto 
them," did not suggest to him the propriety of naming the company, 
which he was able to do by conjecture from ver. 16, 19. Mark fre- 
quently appears anxious to fill up minute particulars, which most 
writers leave unnoticed, or to be imagined. 

2, 7. He omits Matt. viii. 17, viz. the strange application of Isaiah 
liii. 4. to the cures of healing. Since Mark did not object to quote 
prophecy when there was an appearance of applicability, as in the 
case of John the Baptist, it seems probable that he omitted the 
above, and many others quoted by Matthew, from his perception of 
the absurdity of bringing them forward as prophecies. 

6. Mark i. 34. " Not suffering the devils to speak, because they knew 
him," is an idea not found in Matthew. It is repeated by Mark 
very forcibly, iii. 11, 12, and therefore seems more than an amplifi- 
cation made in the warmth of writing. It was probably a tradition 
current at Borne, the origin of which was this : The disciples ob- 
served, in these cases of cures, that the devils themselves generally 
did not speak, which they might have been expected to do by way 
of complaint or protest on their ejection ; they therefore supposed 
that Jesus prohibited them from speaking for the reason stated. 
The fact, that the devils did not speak, is one of those additional 
particulars which Mark, owing probably to his acquaintance with 
Peter, was able to supply. 
6. i. 35 — 38. Gathered from Peter's conversation. 
1, 5. i. 40—45. 

6. ii. 3. Because it was not worth while to add, " which was borne 
of four," for the mere sake of improving Matthew's account ; and 
the latter suggests nothing concerning the number of bearers, which 
might have been two or three. 
5. ii. 4. This breaking up of the roof is a strange incident. There 
appears throughout such an evident disposition on the part of Mark 
to render his story striking, that we may be allowed to conjecture 
that he ventured on this bold amplification merely for the sake of 
illustrating Matt. ver. 2, "Jesus seeing their faith." The omission 
by Matthew of such an incident, whilst noticing the faith of the 
bearers, would be remarkable. 
1. ii. 5 — 22. The frame-work of the narrative agrees closely with 
Matthew : but ver. 13, 23, seem to show that Mark had heard of 
these events in a different order from Matthew. 
4 or 6. In the stoiy of the ears of corn, Mark adds, "In the days of 
Abiathar the high priest."" Ver. 27, 28, also do not arise out of 
Matthew's account. The variations seem greater than would have 
been made by one merely paraphrasing Matthew. 



APPENDIX. dOY 

No. 1, 5. In the cure of the withered hand, the whole of Mark's account 
either agrees with or might have beeu suggested by Matthew's. 
He omits the comparison to the sheep in the pit, but enlarges in 
the other part. The wording of the cure, ver. 5, could not have 
agreed so closely from accident. 

1, 5. iii. 6. Mark adds. " with the Herodians." He might have known 
from Matt. xxii. 16, that they were leagued with the Pharisees 
against Jesus. 

Mark here, as is common for one writer using another, falls con- 
tinually into Matthew's turn of narration and expression. E'&XQovTei; 
is a trifling particular ; kclt avrov is unnecessary to the sense ; 07rwf 
avrov cnrok&Gwfn, " how they might destroy him," is one out of an 
immense variety of phrases which might have been employed in so 
copious a language as the Greek : the same may be said of (jvfijiovXiov ; 
yet all these expressions are in both. 
2. Matthew's construction is the harder in this verse. 

5. iii. 7, 8. An exaggeration on Matt. xii. 15. How could Mark 
have known so precisely from what provinces the multitudes came 1 
Matthew merely gives an obvious fact, that multitudes followed 
him. 

6. iii. 21. This is not suggested by any expression in Matthew, nor is 
it likely that Mark would have imagined a speech apparently so 
derogatory to Jesus. 

No. 7. iii. 26, 28. Here the part omitted by Mark is the most unintel- 
ligible verse in Matthew's narrative, xii. 30. It is very improbable 
that any one, borrowing froni Mark, could have inserted this verse. 



Page 263. 

From other sources besides Matthew, it appears to have been a current 
notion among the Jews that the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem. 
The Targum on Micah v. 1, reads, " From thee shall go forth before me 
Messias, to rule over Israel." The same text is cited in Pirke E. Eliezer, 
as relating to the Messiah. In the Mishna, Berachoth, 5, 1, there is a story 
about the birth of the Messiah, who is said to be Menahem, son of Hezekiah, 
born at Bethlehem. — See Schoettgen and Lightfoot 

If Jesus were really born at Bethlehem, the coincidence would be at least 
remarkable. But this fact rests only on the two accounts of Matthew and 
Luke, against which there are some strong objections. 

In Matthew the birth at Bethlehem is part of the same story which con- 
tains the slaughter of the infants, the appearance of the star, and other 
most improbable circumstances. Moreover, he does not explain the occasion 
of Joseph's being so far from his usual dwelling-place, Nazareth. 

Luke says that Joseph came irp to Bethlehem to be taxed. Now, Josephus 
says that Cyrenius came into Judea "to take an account of the people's sub- 
stance or estates." and he calls this a taxation ; but he gives no intimation 
that the Jews were all required to go into their own cities. Such a wanton 
disturbance of the nation was very unlikely to be insisted on, when the pur- 
pose might be answered as well by a declaration given to the Eoman officer. 

Besides, if we admit the truth of Luke's subsequent statement, that Jesus 
was about thirty years old in the 15th year of Tiberius, he could not be born 



at the time of the taxing, but was then about eight years old ; for. according 
to Josephus, the taxings were made 37 years after the battle of Actium, 
from which date it is agreed that Augustus reigned 44 years. Count, there- 
fore, 30 years from the 15th of his successor Tiberius, and we find that Jesus 
must have been born 8 years before the taxing. 

We can calculate the same thing another way. Herod died A.D.C. 750, 
or 751. Archelaus held the government ten years, according to Josephus, 
and it was only after his removal that Cyrenius came into Judea ; the 
taxing, therefore, must have been in A.U.C. 760, or later. The 15th Tiberius 
falls in with A.U.C. 782. Deduct from this 30 years, and we have the 8th 
year before the taxing for the date of the birth of Jesus. 

Unless, therefore, we suppose that Jesus was only 22 years old, or less, 
when Luke says he was about 30, Luke contradicts not only Matthew, but 
himself, in the circumstances which he connects with the birth at Beth- 
lehem. 

The eagerness of the early church to prove that Jesus fulfilled the pro- 
phecies relative to the Messiah being considered, it is probable, then, that 
the stories of his birth at Bethlehem were invented in order to meet an 
early objection of the Jews, alluded to John vii. 42 : " Hath not the Scrip- 
ture said, that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of 
Bethlehem, where David was ?" 



Pages 321—330. 

" Jesus a revolutionist." — It may appear that in what has been said on this 
subject, there is a want of clearness in explaining what were the views of 
Jesus respecting the Bom an power. The difficulty on this head is probably 
increased to modern readers from their having a more clear and impressive 
idea of that power than was held by the mass of the Jewish populace. The 
modern reader of history connects at once the idea of overwhelming mili- 
tary strength with the Roman name. But this was not so fully the case 
with each people, as they successively underwent the process of subjugation. 
The event alone could fully convince them that the Bomans were irresist- 
ible. The Jewish populace especially, from their blindness to what passed 
in the rest of the world, were likely to fall short in their estimate of Boman 
strength. A few legions and garrisons, better armed and disciplined than 
themselves, were all that appeared visibly before them ; and why should 
not these be expelled by a whole nation 1 The geography and statistics 
of the lower Jews were not sufficient to enable them to appreciate the colos- 
sal power by which those few legions would sooner or later be supported. 
An Agrippa was seldom at hand to give them a minute detail of Boman 
conquests. The inertness of their own rulers, high priests, scribes and Pha- 
risees, chiefly excited their indignation. 

Yet it must be admitted that the legions of the procurator formed an ob- 
stacle too prominent to be overlooked by any Jew who desired the national 
deliverance ; and if Jesus ever allowed himself to dwell upon the means 
by which that deliverance was to be effected, the mode of expulsion of those 
legions must have frequently been a subject of thought. Allowing that he 
hoped for supernatural assistance, did he rely upon it to such an extent as 
to render all efforts of the Jewish population superfluous, or did he expect 



APPENDIX. *S»y 

it only as an impulse to a gallant and successful insurrection like that of 
Judas Maccabasus? 

It is difficult to form a precise opinion on this point, because 

Firstly : It is probable that Jesus never did clearly define, even in his 
own mind, the precise nature of the means by which the kingdom was to be 
introduced. A cool Jewish politician or warrior would have immediately 
seen that the first and most important business was to get rid of the Eoman 
incubus ; from such an individual we should justly look for copious indica- 
tions of his intentions in this respect. But these features, as we have seen, 
were but in a small degree ingredients in the character of Jesus. His dis- 
position inclined him rather to be the teacher and prophet of his nation, and 
to invoke the arm of the Lord, than to organize arms of flesh. The Scrip- 
tures taught that the God of Israel was omnipotent, and that whenever his 
people's sufferings and repentance had arrived at the predetermined degree, 
he had specially interfered to deliver them. Pilate could no more resist 
Jehovah than could Pharaoh, Chushan-rishathaim, or Sennacherib. To 
persuade their God to stretch forth his arm was the shortest way to deliver- 
ance. Eepentance and prayer of the whole nation were the most direct 
and effectual means of attaining freedom. The nation's hardness of heart 
was the main difficulty ; the Eoman power a secondary one. Making full 
allowance for this strong peculiarity in Jewish thought at the time of Christ, 
(and few readers of the New Testament probably allow for it sufficiently,) 
it does not appear inconsistent with that degree of intellect and mental 
acuteness which appears in the conduct of Jesus in many parts of his story, 
that he should have embarked in a career involving his own fate and that 
of his followers, without a careful consideration of that which, to ordinary 
and modern calculation, would form the most essential matter to be pro- 
vided for. 

Secondly : Admitting that Jesus might have thought over at times the 
means by which his Father would choose to expel the Eomans, he never 
arrived at such a point as to require the public manifestation of his thoughts. 
Considered politically, he failed at the outset. The first part of the plan 
must be to call the whole nation to repentance, and to obtain some demon- 
stration or promise of adherence to himself ; when the whole nation should 
appear in the requisite temper in these respects, it would be time enough to 
announce what further steps were necessary to restore the throne of David. 
But he found himself unsupported except by hungry multitudes ; the pre- 
liminary preaching of preparation alone, in an extensive and organized 
manner, brought upon hirn disgrace and proscription from the Jewish autho- 
rities. His thoughts then, whatever they were, respecting the ulterior object 
of expelling the Eomans, remained chiefly in his own breast ; and it is 
almost out of the province of reasonable criticism to attempt to define them 
accurately. 

Looking however at the indications which we can gather from his dis- 
courses and acts, I am inclined to conjecture that there was some fluctua- 
tion in his thoughts upon this point, according to the different circumstances 
in which he was placed ; that he did not set out with the intention of form- 
ing the Jewish population into armies, and of occupying the towns as a 
military leader ; he trusted that the faith which could remove a mountain 
into the sea, woidd supersede the necessity for military tactics ; but that 
when he found superhuman aid wanting, he would gladly have availed 
himself of a general armed rising of the nation, and occasionally even gave 



390 



APPENDIX. 



some obscure hints'that this might be necessary to attain the Kingdom of 
God. 

Let us go through the four Evangelists to collect all traces of information 
on this point : 

Matthews. 32. "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him 
will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33. But whosoever 
shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is 
in heaven. 34. Think not that I came to send peace on earth : I came not 
to send peace, but a sword. 35. For I am come to set a man at variance 
against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter- 
in-law against her mother-in-law. 36. And a man's foes shall be they of 
his own household. 37. He that loveth father or mother more than me is 
not worthy of me. 38. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after 
me, is not worthy of me. 39. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he 
that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." 

The discourse from which this passage is taken evidently contains a large 
mixture of matter applicable to the history of the church after the death of 
Jesus till the writer's own time, viz. the allusion to the distresses which the 
followers of Christ should undergo, in terms pointing apparently beyond the 
earlier annoyance from Jewish authorities, to the persecution by Nero ; also 
the expectation of an approaching end bringing salvation to the followers 
of Christ, and of the coming of the Son of Man, — which notions we have 
seen reason to consider most prevalent among the Jewish, Christians about 
the time of the siege. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that this 
long discourse in Matthew presents us with some original sayings of Jesus 
liberally intermingled with more recent views. But some parts bear a 
strong character of genuineness ; for instance, ver. 5 — 15 ; and ought we 
to attribute the same character to the passage under consideration ? This 
must be determined mainly by weighing its intrinsic applicability to the 
different periods. 

Ver. 32, 33, — more applicable to the later period ; because it was then 
reckoned by the church the prime merit of a Christian to confess Jesus 
before men, that is, to proclaim him the Messiah, at the risk of martyrdom ; 
but at the time when Jesus gave his charge to the apostles, and even during 
the greater part of his life, it was the very thing he was most anxious they 
should not do. A few chapters further on, we find Matthew himself stating 
that "he commanded them to tell no man that he was the Christ." As the 
whole stands, the disciples are first promised eternal rewards if they will do 
what they are shortly afterwards strictly enjoined not to do. Nor can it be 
said that Jesus is here carrying his views forward into futurity, for no such 
transition is marked : he begins evidently with directions for their immediate 
conduct ; and if he had really spoken the whole chapter as it stands, the 
disciples could not have been expected to distinguish one kind of directions 
from the other, and after hearing from verse 5 to 33 continuously, they 
certainly could not have been justly blamed if they had committed the im- 
portant mistake of confessing to all Judea that Jesus was the Christ. The 
omission to mark the transition would thus have been a grievous error on 
the part of Jesus, but on the part of the writer 40 years later, it was com- 
paratively unimportant, and agrees with his ascertained carelessness. It is 
true that the inconsistency would be avoided by attributing another sense 
to the term " confession ;" one consistent with the actual position of Jesus, 
viz. a confession that he was a greater prophet than John ; but from his 



APPENDIX. 391 

cautious conduct at that time with respect to the authorities, it seems very 
doubtful whether he would have desired even this : and considering the 
verses in reference to the continuous exhortation from ver. 16, with which 
the word " therefore" appears intended to connect them, it is more natural 
to consider that the confession of Jesus, on which so much stress is laid, — 
the confession to be given "before governors and kings, for a testimony 
against them and the Gentiles" — is the confession of his most exalted cha- 
racter. 

Ver. 34 does not link itself with the preceding, but appears rather to 
begin a distinct subject. The whole from 34 to 39 undoubtedly expresses 
very well and powerfully the necessity of preparation even for civil warfare 
in the cause undertaken — an exhortation to conquer or die, and a promise 
of eternal reward to those who fall. If it had proceeded from Mahomet, 
no one would hesitate to attribute this character to it ; we should say per- 
haps that this passage described very aptly the views of the Arabian warrior- 
prophet. The uniformly pacific disposition of Jesus throughout his career 
is not so indisputably established as to lead us to banish without examina- 
tion such an explanation of the passage regarded as proceeding from him. 
If really uttered by him, in substance at least, during his circuit through 
Galilee, whilst he was inducing multitudes to leave their occupations and 
follow him, it is difficult to avoid an interpretation of this kind. Certainly 
his Galilean hearers would have required a very careful and explicit com- 
mentary to preserve them from it. For the Galileans were notoriously im- 
patient of the Eoman yoke ; from the time of Judas the Gaulonite they had 
been most prone to insurrection, and preserved this reputation till the ex- 
tinction of the Jewish state. The brave defenders of the Galilean towns 
against Vespasian would probably have considered the language of Jesus as 
that of a man worthy to lead them ; and his actual hearers partook suffi- 
ciently of their temper to be inclined to consider it as a significant hint. 
It is complimenting the peaceful intent of Jesus at the expense of his un- 
derstanding, to suppose that he threw fire-brands upon imflammable matter, 
without at all intending to raise a conflagration. 

The passage, however, expresses rather the melancholy desperation of 
one forced into a course to which he would be naturally averse, than the 
ready ardour of a military spirit. 

This verse (34) is not linked with the preceding either by the expression 
or the sense ; and does not appear very applicable to the later period. The 
dissensions which had torn Judea for some time before Matthew wrote, were 
not caused by Jesus. He was so far from sending the sword, either of the 
Eomans, or of the Jewish zealots, that there are good grounds for believing 
that his followers were at that period among the more peaceably inclined. 
A writer of the sect would not have volunteered a text apparently so con- 
tradictory to the spiritual character which then began to be the more 
prevalent attribute of Christ's kingdom. 

It is true that at the time referred to, the Christian church very gene- 
rally expected an approaching end of all existing kingdoms, and the appear- 
ance of the Lord to avenge his saints. But the verse does not express this 
with any thing approaching the significance which would probably have 
been infused into it by one intending to indicate such an extraordinary 
kind of interposition. The terms "peace" and a "sword," both in them- 
selves, and in connection with the following verses, seem most obviously to 
signify ordinary peace, and common civil warfare. 



392 APPENDIX. 

On the other hand, considered as spoken by Jesus at some part of the 
time when he was endeavouring to rouse the towns of Galilee to prepara- 
tion for the kingdom, the verse has a very intelligible sense. It had been 
said of the Messiah, that he was to bring peace and plenty to Israel ; their 
progress hitherto had shown that this was not to be attained without a pre- 
liminary struggle ; the disciples must not lull themselves with the hope of 
an easy acquisition of the blessings of the Christ's reign, but must be pre- 
pared even for civil warfare in order to attain it. 

Ver. 35, 36, by themselves, might apply very well to religious family dis- 
sensions, which the progress of a new sect must often occasion. But they 
also apply to a state of civil warfare, and as they are connected with the 
preceding verse, the sense given to it must determine the sense of these 
also. Some members of the family of Jesus himself rejected him. From 
Matt. xix. 29, Luke ix. 61, which bear a strong character of genuineness, 
it is undeniable that the attempt to follow Jesus occasioned many of his 
disciples to be rejected by their kindred. The strong similarity of all these 
passages contributes to identify a common source, viz. Jesus himself ; and 
thus ver. 34 would become the exponent of these two following ones. 

It is true that ver. 21 much resembles 35, but it occurs in the midst of 
the description of the subsequent persecutions, and the term "delivering 
up" increases its applicability to those times. 

Ver. 37 might apply to either time, but yet much better to that of Jesus. 
The profession of his religion in after times did not so necessarily imply the 
forsaking of kindred, as the following himself in person. Paul was favour- 
able to the continued union of believers and unbelievers of the same family. 
1 Cor. vii. 16. 

Ver. 38, 39, in the main, apply better to the time of Jesus : for they 
imply the necessity of immediate action, and imminent dangerous enter- 
prise, rather than that passive firmness which is most appropriate to an 
obnoxious religious sect. The phrase " taketh not his cross" may be the 
writer's own form of expressing the risk which Jesus was announcing, and 
may thus include some modification from his own knowledge of the event ; 
yet there is not an insuperable objection to considering them as literally 
genuine, since crucifixion was known to be the common fate of persons 
unsuccessful in attempting innovations. 

In Mark there is nothing corresponding to ver. 34 of Matthew. We have 
seen that Mark in many instances omits sayings which, although bearing 
strongly the character of authenticity, had become unsuitable to his time 
and readers. 

In Luke we find it so far modified, and in such a different connexion, as 
to lead us to think that he does not here borrow from Matthew, but records 
it as he obtained it from some one of the other sources which supplied him 
with materials. 

Luke xii. 49, " I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I if it 
be already kindled 1 50. But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and 
how am I straitened until it be accomplished ! 51. Suppose ye that I am 
come to give peace on earth ? I tell you, nay ; but rather division. 52. For 
from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against 
two, and two against three. 53. The father shall be divided against the 
son, &c." 



APPENDIX. 393 

These verses have the appearance of one of those collections of frag- 
mentary sayings, which Luke places together merely in consequence of 
some imaginary association. Ver. 49 appears to be the relic, possibly a 
corrupted one, of some saying resembling ver. 34 Matt. ; but when Luke 
wrote, the original meaning was probably lost in the Gentile churches, 
and consequently he inserts it without having himself a clear perception of 
its sense. By itself, it would perhaps appear too obscure to found any 
reasoning upon ; but since Luke places it so near to ver. 51, plainly the 
parallel of Matt. 34, we have some ground for taking this latter to illustrate 
it. The two places then agree very well. To send fire on the earth is a 
very appropriate description of the introduction of civil warfare : tl StXw ft 
t)8ri avt](j)9r] appears to express regret and desperation ; the original saying 
might have signfied, " What course must now be pursued, if the preaching 
throughout Galilee have already kindled an insurrection, and compromised 
us irretrievably with the earthly powers 1 Shall I, who had hitherto relied 
on divine aid, now attempt to avail myself of this earthly means alone ?" 

It is not likely that the church should have gratuitously invented a saying 
so much at variance with the peaceful and spiritual character which be- 
longed to it in subsequent times. Also si T}Srj expresses something expected 
by the speaker to happen or to have happened in his own time. These are 
additional reasons for regarding the saying as coming, in substance, from 
Jesus himself ; and as such, it hardly appears susceptible of any other sense 
than the one referred to. His moral teaching and his sayings in general, 
when uninfluenced by some pressing emergency, are in favour of peace and 
good-will. It would be extravagant to attribute to Jesus the detestable 
design of infusing into men in general a spirit of dissension. But reasons 
have been shown for supposing that he aimed at attaining the throne of 
Israel, and delivering his country, to which end a temporary "fire" or 
" sword " might, against his Avill, be found to be the only means. 

Thus Luke not only confirms the remarkable verse in Matthew, but 
places near it another, apparently independent, but, as far as we can under- 
stand it, agreeing with it in sense. 

Ver. 50, it is true, has no connexion with the preceding one, interpreted 
in this manner ; but does not Luke's general method of compilation autho- 
rize the conjecture that he judged this a fit place for inserting this second 
fragmentary verse, merely because the " fire sent on earth" appeared to him 
a parallel idea to the "baptism of fire" instead of water, which Jesus was 
said to bring, and consequently as naturally suggesting any remarkable 
saying of Jesus respecting his baptism ? 

The entrance into Jerusalem approaches very nearly to actual revolt. 
Since Jesus appears to encourage the multitude as far as lies in his power, 
we must conclude, that if this movement did not terminate in armed insur- 
rection, it was owing only to the prompt vigilance of the chief priests and 
Pharisees. These authorities are keenly reproached by Jesus himself, and 
the people threatened with the loss of the kingdom of God on account of 
their rejection of him. 

Matt xxiii. 13 : " Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites : for ye 
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men ; for ye neither go in yourselves, 
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." A political sense is here 
the most clear and intelligible. The saying is placed soon after the account 
of the repression, by the Pharisees, of the incipient insurrection, and thus 
AA 



394 APPENDIX. 

appears to mean, " Ye Pharisees will neither aid yourselves in that national 
deliverance, the introduction to the kingdom of heaven, of which I come to 
bring the signal, nor allow free course to the efforts of these truer sons of 
Israel, whom my voice had begun to rouse." That the Pharisees hindered 
men's souls from reaching the eternal happy state, in consequence of the 
false doctrines taught by them, is too strained and figurative an interpreta- 
tion to be admitted without strong support from the context, corresponding 
passages, or connected events. The expression is not " heaven," but the 
"kingdom of heaven," i.e. indisputably "the kingdom of the Messiah ;" and 
how did the Pharisees in fact hinder men from entering into it? Most 
obviously, by their conduct just related, their suppression of the popidar 
enthusiasm, and determined maintenance of the actual state of things. 

When Jesus is apprehended, the disciples appear disposed to defend him 
by force : but he represses the attempt ; " Put up again thy sword into its 
place : for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword." This 
disclaimer however of the use of military weapons at that moment, when 
it could only involve the disciples in his own fate, by no means proves that 
he would have held the same language on all other occasions. The moment 
for effective resistance was then past ; the attempt must evidently accelerate 
rate his own fate, and sacrifice them. 

In the parables of Jesus, kings and armies are not unfrequently intro- 
duced, and sometimes in such a manner as to sanction rather than condemn 
their ordinary employments. Matt. xxii. 7 ; Luke xiv. 31 ; xix. 27. If he 
represented the righteous and triumphant king as slaying his enemies, we 
can hardly suppose that he would have disapproved of the slaying of some 
Komans and recusant Jews, in order to attain the triumph. 

These indications are, I think, sufficient to authorize the conjecture, that 
although Jesus intended at first, and entertained most ardently the desire, 
to be the leader of the people to general righteousness and repentance, trust- 
ing to the divine arm for deliverance ; — yet the position into which after 
some time he foiind himself drawn by his undertaking, led him to desire 
earnestly the aid of his countrymen in any way by which it could be ren- 
dered effective. 

Yet admitting, in its fullest extent, the semi-bellicose aspect which this 
view affixes to Jesus, we are not thereby compelled to withdraw the epithets 
of wise or virtuous, which we might have felt disposed to attribute to him 
in reference to his predominant character of moral teacher. That he enter- 
tained the idea of freeing his country from a hateful foreign yoke, when 
other means failed, by exciting to a gallant and unanimous resistance, would 
probably raise him in most eyes more than a demeanour invariably answering 
to the description " the meek and lowly Jesus." 



THE END. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM 



PREFACE 



The following are some reflections on the direction which the 
religious sentiments of men may be expected to take after the 
relinquishment of their belief in miraculous revelations. 

On some occasions old truths have an interest and fitness 
of application which give them a freshness equal to that of 
novelty. This must be the excuse for repeating here some 
things which may have often been said before. To those who 
have felt compelled to acquiesce in the conclusions referred to 
with respect to the Christian religion, the truths which can be 
gathered from Nature come to have a force and a reality which 
were never before perceived. When we are called upon to de- 
cide between Nature's religion and none, it seems to us as if 
we had not yet sufficiently weighed the import of the lessons 
conveyed in Creation, and we find in them the interest and 
value belonging to new discoveries. 

These pages may, perhaps, express some of the thoughts to 
which such a position gives rise ; and also tend to show in 
what sense Theism and Christianity may unite in name as well 
as in sympathies. 



, 1839. 



CHEISTIAN THEISM 



Miracle and prophecy are losing their influence over the minds of 
men ; they are no longer put forward as the impregnable bulwarks 
of religion, but are withdrawn to a more secure place in the back- 
ground. Their strength as armour is mistrusted ; and they are 
preserved with the jealous care due to venerated but fragile relics. 
The tone of confident appeal to the supposed unimpeachable evi- 
dence on their behalf, is succeeded by an imploring deprecation of 
the rashness which should root up a belief on the whole beneficial, 
or by a discreet silence. The imagination may still linger over the 
ancient and pleasing fictions, so long intertwined with the religious 
feelings of all the nations who have drawn their creeds from Pa- 
lestine ; but calm reason is unable to acknowledge them longer as 
facts. A dispassionate examination persuades us that there is no 
sufficient ground for believing that that land, more than others, 
has witnessed interruptions or suspensions of the laws of nature : 
the closest investigation fails to support the wondrous tales, the 
power of which over the imagination and heart was enhanced by 
the solemnity of religious sanction : we recognize with some dis- 
appointment, that although men in every land have been liable to 
mistake, exaggerate, or deceive, the sun and moon have, in all 
probability, ever pursued their regular course over the valleys of 
Judea ; that attraction of gravitation has probably never ceased to 
operate on the sea, of Galilee ; nor the human frame, in the region 



400 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

from Idumea to Tyre and Sidon, to be affected by those causes 
alone which fall within the limits of the physical and organic laws 
of nature. 

Yet, after having arrived at this result, the inquirer presently 
sees the horizon begin to clear, and many difficulties which had 
hitherto enveloped religion break up and disperse. Subjects most 
interesting to mankind no longer appear clogged with absurdities, 
which the utmost ingenuity of scholarship could not reduce into a 
shape admissible before reason ; the progress of moral science is 
no longer impeded by the necessity of accommodating conclusions 
to a collection of written precepts ; nor the supply of mental 
strength made dependent on the reception of tales of the most 
difficult verification. At the same time, whatever of real moral 
value was contained in Christianity and its records may be 
retained ; nor does the important modification of opinions alluded 
to, appear even to bring with it the necessity of running counter 
to the feelings of this age and country by a renunciation of the 
Christian name. It must rejoice the lover of peace, as well as of 
truth, to feel convinced that there is no inconsistency in retaining 
a name in favour of which there are such strong, and on many 
accounts deserved, prepossessions, amongst the mass of his country- 
men and benevolent men of every clime ; and that this minor point 
need not contribute to a separation in feeling and action, which the 
difference of opinion alone would not have occasioned. 

Even those more liberal Christians, who have been willing to 
admit that many different opinions might co-exist within the pale 
of Christianity, have generally taken it for granted that a belief 
in its miraculous origin at least was essential. But a close atten- 
tion to the history of Jesus Christ will show that this distinction 
is perfectly arbitrary ; and that a total disbelief of miracles and 
prophecy no more disqualifies a man for bearing with propriety 
and consistency the Christian name, than any other deduction from 
the exuberant belief which places him in the Triune Godhead. 
The most striking points in Christ's career and preaching show 
that contribution to human improvement constitutes the most pro- 
minent title to the name of Christian, regarded merely in an 
etymological and historical sense ; and that, if the benevolent 
Deist feels inclined to honour the Jewish reformer by perpetuating 
his name in this honourable connection with philanthropy, he may 
do so without even historical inaccuracy. 

By some the essence of Christianity has been supposed to con- 
sist in the acknowledgment of Jesus as God, or the Son of God ; 
by others, in looking to his death as an atonement for the sins of 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 401 

the world ; by others, in the belief that he was raised from the 
dead, or that he was a man approved of God by miracles, wonders, 
and signs ; — in all which views men appear to have been more 
regardful of what was said by the followers of Christ, immediate 
or subsequent, than of that which formed his own main purpose 
during his life. 

The earliest and original doctrine of Christianity, the feature 
which characterized the infant religion at its birth, that which John 
the Baptist preached even before Jesus came, which Jesus himself 
made the chief topic of almost every discourse, and which he bade 
his followers proclaim in every town from Galilee to Jerusalem, 
accords with the views of every benevolent man. Prepare for the 
kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven approaches. Pray 
that the reign of God may come on earth as it is in heaven. 

Amidst the many evils which disfigure the present aspect of 
mankind, men find a satisfaction in turning to the beautiful 
imaginary picture of a state of human innocence and perfection. 
To the frequent manifestations of the lower feelings -which must 
occur during an imperfect state of human nature, a pleasing con- 
trast is presented by the contemplation of a period, when all the 
noxious features of the human character shall have disappeared, 
and the face of society shall present a rich and moral landscape of 
virtue and happiness. This contemplation is the more natural, 
inasmuch as the moral world seems hitherto evidently behind the- 
natural in point of perfection. The one seems to be nearer than 
the other to the perfection of which its nature admits. All the- 
different views of nature contain something to please us ; the com 
field, the meadow, or the deep blue sea, may have more of tranquil 
beauty ; yet even the wild heath, the barren desert, the storm, and 
the volcano, gratify our sense of the vast and sublime. But in 
much of the moral world, in the insincerity, meanness, and hard 
unscrupulous selfishness, which prevail to a great extent, there is 
nothing to gratify any perceptions within us ; and we are tempted 
to inquire if both proceeded from the same creator, or if he was 
here less able to repel the encroachments of Arimanes than in 
physical nature. Nevertheless, amidst all the deformity of which we- 
complain, enough of beauty is seen to persuade us that both kinds 
of creation proceed from a source in which benevolence at least was 
preponderant ; and we recognize the impress of the same God in 
the star and hill, and in the body and mind of man. Hence the 
disproportion which strikes us, in the apparent amount of evil in 
the two creations, suggests, that the moral world does not at present 
exhibit the entire plan which the Creator had in view in its forma- 



402 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

tion ; that it has either fallen from the perfect state in which it 
issued from his hand, or not yet arrived at that full growth which 
he contemplated as its ultimate destination. 

The moral sentiments having existed in some degree in all ages 
and countries, whilst unfortunately there has never been wanting 
a sufficient quantity of violence and fraud to shock them, these 
thoughts have appeared in different forms amongst many nations, 
but generally under one or other of those referred to, viz. a state 
of perfection already past, or one which is yet to come ; a golden 
age at the beginning, or one at the end of the world. 

The idea appears in some parts of the poetical writings of the 
Jews, called the Prophets, who represent the imagined state of 
happiness as still to come, and to be revealed in the times of the 
end, or in the day of the Lord. The representations of it in these 
writings are more interesting to us than any others, because from 
them are derived principally those ideas and doctrines which, al- 
though now owing to a long series of modifications their identity 
is hardly to be recognized, have exercised under the name of 
Christianity such an important influence over mankind. Let us, 
then, recal the views on this subject of those whom Christ and the 
Apostles quoted as high authorities, the Jewish prophets. 

The book of Isaiah frequently represents that it will be the 
peculiar distinction of Jacob, to spread the knowledge of his God 
and peace throughout the earth. 

Ch. ii. 2 — 4 : " And it shall come to pass in the last clays, that the moun- 
tain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, 
and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall now unto it. And 
many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of 
the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his 
ways, and we will walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the law, 
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the 
nations, and shall rebuke many people ; and they shall beat their swords 
into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift 
up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." 

Speaking of the future king of the stem of Jesse, who is to re- 
store the peace and glory of Israel, he says, that in his days, 

" The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with 
the kid ; and the calf and the young lion and the f atling together ; and a 
little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed ; their 
young ones shall lie down together ; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned 
child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor 
destroy in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of the know- 
ledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." — Chap. xi. 6 — 9. 

In the magnificent description of Israel's future glory, chap, lx., 






CHRISTIAN THEISM. 40S 

all the other nations of the earth are to derive enlightenment from 
the favoured nation. 

Isaiah lx. 1 — 3 : " Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, for behold the dark- 
ness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people : but the Lord shall 
arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall 
come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." 

Chap. lxi. 11 : " For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden 
causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth ,- so the Lord God will 
cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." 

In the vision of Daniel, the last kingdom of the saints of the 
Most High is to extend over the whole earth. 

Dan. vii. 13, 14 : "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son 
of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, 
and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion 
and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should 
serve him : his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." 

Mieah, after lamenting the vices and sufferings of Israel in his 
own time, repeats the splendid anticipation of Isaiah concerning 
the last days. 

Mic. iv. 3, 4 : " nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, 

neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under 
his vine and his fig-tree ; and none shall make them afraid : for the mouth 
of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it." 

The sentiments in the other prophets, and even in some parts of 
those here quoted, are much inferior to the above ; and in general 
it must be allowed that the most exalted Jewish ideas, respecting 
the earth's expected improvement, were mingled with a large mass 
of mere national prejudice and vanity. The kingdom of God was 
hardly contemplated with so much satisfaction as being the uni- 
versal reign of righteousness, as for the sake of that triumphant 
empire which Jacob should then assert over the nations that had 
oppressed him, and that glorious sceptre which David's great suc- 
cessor should sway over the whole earth. If the nations were to 
be brought to righteousness, it was to be by means of the law pro- 
ceeding from Zion. If in the day of the Lord the Gentiles were 
to rejoice in the light of the Holy One of Israel, the same day was 
to behold the confusion of his adversaries, and to be a day of the 
Lord's vengeance on behalf of Israel. Nevertheless, the sublimity 
of the views to which these writings occasionally reach, may lead 
us to overlook the Jewish prejudices with which they abound, and 
in some degree to join in the estimation in which they have so long: 
been held. 



404 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

Jesus Christ learned from the prophets the idea of a future state 
of perfection on earth, called the Kingdom of heaven, improved it 
from the resources of his own higher moral nature, and brought 
all the powers of a fertile eastern imagination to illustrate it so as 
to awaken the enthusiasm of his hearers. He delighted to pourtray 
the kingdom in a variety of forms, and with the imagery naturally 
proceeding from Jewish habits of thought. The multitudes listened 
with delight to discourses which for a moment raised their minds 
to ideas above their usual level, and to views of which the grandeur 
was probably augmented by not being clearly defined. Many of 
every class, from the Galilean fisherman to the the member of the 
Sanhedrim, loved to hear the prophet of Nazareth expatiate on his 
favourite theme, and looked for his approach of that Kingdom in 
which the will of God should be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

The following is a recapitulation of the principal texts in the 
four Gospels referring to the Kingdom of heaven : — 

Matt, iii, 2 : John the Baptist preaches repentance, as a preparation for the 
kingdom, iv. 17 : " From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, 
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." v. 3 — 12 : Humility, merci- 
fulness, and patience in suffering, necessary in order to attain the kingdom. 
Ver. 19, 20 : Doing and teaching his commandments confer greatness in the 
kingdom. Greater righteousness than that of the Scribes and Pharisees 
necessary, vi. 10 : " Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven." vi. 33 : " Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and 
all these things shall be added unto you." vii. 21 : "Not every one that saith 
nnto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that 
doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." viii. 11, 12 : " Many shall 
come from the east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast 
■out into outer darkness." ix. 35 : Jesus preaches the gospel of the kingdom, 
and heals diseases, in many cities and villages, x. 7 : Appoints twelve Apostles 
io preach the kingdom through the cities of Israel, xi. 11 : " The least in 
the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist." Ver. 12 : " From 
the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth 
violence, and the violent take it by force." xii. 28 : " But if I cast out 
devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." 
xiii : Parable of the sower. Perseverance in the midst of temptations 
necessary to attain the kingdom. The multitude does not understand its 
■mysteries. The kingdom of heaven likened to the field of good seed and 
tares ; in the end of the world the wicked shall be cast into a furnace of 
fire, and the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their 
Father. Like to a grain of mustard-seed ; — to leaven ; — to a treasure hid 
in a field ; — to a pearl of great price ; — to a net gathering of every kind ; at 
the end of the world the wicked shall be separated from the just. xvi. 19 : 
The keys of the kingdom promised to Peter. Ver. 28 : " Some here shall not 
taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." xviii. 
2 — 4 : To be humble as little children qualifies for the kingdom. Ver. 23 — 35 : 
In the kingdom of heaven there will be a reckoning, and those who have 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 405 

shown mercy will obtain it. xix. 12 : " Some eunuchs for the kingdom of 
heaven's sake. He that is able to receive the saying, let him receive it." 
Ver. 23: "A rich man shall hardly enter the kingdom of heaven." Ver. 
28 : Promise of twelve thrones to the apostles, in the regeneration, xx. 
1 — 16 : Parable of the vineyard ; the last labourers made equal to the 
first. 20 — 28 : Jesus rebukes Zebedee's children, who sought places of dis- 
tinction in his kingdom, xxi. 1 — 11 : Kides into Jerusalem, as the predicted 
lowly King of Zion. Ver. 31 : " The publicans and harlots go into the king- 
dom before" the chief priests and elders. Ver. 43 : Those who reject the 
Messiah, threatened that the kingdom shall be given to others, xxii. 1 — 14 : 
The kingdom like a marriage feast ; the guests refusing to come, and mur- 
dering the king's servants, he destroys them, and invites others, xxiii. 13 : 
"The Scribes and Pharisees shut up the kingdom against men." xxiv. 
14 : " The gospel of the kingdom to be preached in all the world, and then 
the end shall come." xxv. : Parable of the ten virgins. The kingdom will 
be revealed unexpectedly. The Lord will require increase for his talents. 
The Son of man, sitting on the throne of his glory, will divide men into the 
two classes of righteous and wicked, xxvi. 29 : Jesus will not drink wine 
again until he drinks it new in his Father's kingdom. Ver. 64 : Jesus tells 
the high priest, " the Son of man will be seen hereafter sitting on the right 
hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." 

The texts in Mark and Luke, merely corresponding with those in Matthew, 
are omitted. 

Mark i. 15 : " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." 
26 — 29 : The kingdom like seed growing secretly to a full harvest, xii. 34 : 
The Scribe who loved God and his neighbour, not far from the kingdom of 
God. xv. 43 : Joseph of Arimathea, one of those who "waited for the king- 
dom of God." 

Luke i. 33 : The child Jesus " shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, 
and of his kingdom there shall be no end." iv. 43 : Jesus says, " I must 
preach the kingdom of God to other cities also ; for therefore am I sent." 
ix. 62 : "No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is 
fit for the kingdom of God." xii. 32 : It is the Father's good pleasure to 
give the kingdom to the little flock of disciples, xiv. 15 : A guest ex- 
claims, " Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." Jesus 
answers by the parable of the supper, of which the poor and blind and lame 
were brought to partake, instead of those first invited, xvii. 20, 21 : " And 
when he was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdon of God should 
come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with 
observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here, or lo there ; for behold the 
kingdom of God is within (among) you." xix. 11 : On arriving at Jerusalem, 
the disciples thought the kingdom of God should immediately appear. 
Parable of the nobleman who was rejected by his citizens, obtains a kingdom 
elswhere, and returns to reckon with his servants, and take vengeance on his 
enemies, xxi. 31 : When Jerusalem is trodden down, and signs appear 
in the heavens, the kingdom of God will be nigh, xxiii. 42 : The malefactor 
says to Jesus, " Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." 

John i. 49 : " Nathanael saith, Eabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art 
the King of Israel." iii. 3 : Jesus says, " Except a man be born again, he 
cannot see the kingdom of God." Ver. 5 : " Except a man be born of water, 
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." xviii. 36 : 
" My kingdom is not of this world : If my kingdom were of this world, then 



406 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews : but 
now is my kingdom not from hence."* 

Jesus made virtue the chief qualification for partaking of the 
kingdom of heaven. To love God and one's neighbour, was to be 
not far from the kingdom of God. And he laid particular stress 
on virtues of the meek and benevolent kind. " Blessed are the meek, 
for they shall inherit the earth .... Blessed are the peace-makers, 

for they shall be called the children of God Blessed are they 

which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the king- 
dom of heaven." Those who in spirit are like little children, rather 
than the contenders for greatness, are fit for the kingdom of God. 
" By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have 
love one to another." " Love your enemies." In all this, Jesus 
accords strikingly with the most advanced morality of the present 
age, which admits that the prevalence of these dispositions is the 
most essential requisite to the improvement of the world. 

Moreover, although Jesus seems to have held the common Jewish 
notion of the exaltation of Israel, there are indications that, in his 
view, the righteous throughout the world would be partakers of 
the kingdom. In the parable of the tares, the field is the world, 
and the good seed are the children of the kingdom. — Matt. xiii. 
38. The kingdom is like a net cast into the sea, which gathered 
fish of every kind. — Ver. 47. f 

These excellent and enlightened views are enough to secure to 
Jesus the permanent respect of moralists, although it be admitted 
that he added to them some notions peculiarly Jewish, or of 
inferior merit. 

Jesus Christ, after a very short career, was put to death, a 
victim to the political suspicions which he had excited ; and the 
state of things, which he had announced, was found not to be near 
at hand. His followers continued for a time to expect a kingdom 
of heaven, to be revealed in some extraordinary manner. Experi- 



* The probability of some interpolations of later views, acquired by the 
church after the fall of Jerusalem, with the sayings of Jesus himself, espe- 
cially in the last Gospel, is considered, ch. vi. and xvi. of " An Inquiry 
concerning the Origin of Christianity." 

f There is much difficulty in distinguishing accurately the views of Jesus 
himself on this point, both from a probable modification in his own teaching, 
after the arrival at Jerusalem, and the non-acknowledgment of his Messiah- 
ship by the Jews ; and from the probable introduction of the more enlarged 
views of the church after the admission of the Gentiles. See some reflec- 
tions on this subject, chap. xvi. of "An Inquiry," &c. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 407 

ence and reason have long set aside this expectation as chimerical ; 
hut at the same time they convince us, that the tendency of the 
world is actually towards the realization of the conception de- 
scribed, a state of happiness and perfection on earth ; and that the 
proper means of bringing it to pass, are human efforts in the cause 
of charity and knowledge. Thus the labourers in this cause are 
the only real fulfillers of the intention of Jesus. They are in 
effect bringing about that which Jewish imagination called Mes- 
siah's reign ; they are obeying in the most efficient manner Christ's 
most urgent command ; and may therefore with peculiar propriety 
be called after that name, which, in reference to the future king- 
dom, was assumed by him. 



Undoubtedly, the views of Jesus were in some respects very 
different from those of the modern moralist. The expectation of 
a miraculous introduction of the kingdom,* and of his own ex- 
altation as Messiah, naturally gave to his teaching a general 
tendency to excitement and to a disregard of the common engage- 
ments of life. "j" With every allowance too for eastern style, it 
may be questioned if the virtues of humility and reliance upon 
providence^ are not enforced to an extent inconsistent with self- 
respect, prudence, and energy of character. There is a general 
depreciation of the common enjoyments of earth ; poverty and 
suffering seem to be held up as actually desirable, in preference 
to a happy earthly life, for the sake of obtaining a better title to a 
future reward. § This future reward, whether in the kingdom 



* This subject is considered, ch. xvi. of "An Inquiry," &o. 

f His hearers are repeatedly commanded to forsake their kindred and 
occupations in order to follow him. He says to the multitudes, " Whosoever 
he be of you that forsaketh not all he hath, he cannot be my disciple." 
Luke xiv. 25 — 33. The young man, who had kept the commandments, and 
was apparently making good use of his riches, is commanded. " if he will 
be perfect, to sell what he has and give to the poor, and to follow him :" Matt 
xix. 18 — 22. Marriage is not prohibited, but it is desirable for those who 
seek the kingdom of heaven to abstain from it. Matt xix. 10 — 12. 

J Matt. v. 38 — 41 ; vi. 25 — 34. By comparing these precepts with some 
similar rabbinical proverbs in use among the Jews about the time of Christ, 
it appears unlikely that he intended them to be understood in that merely 
figurative sense which modern commentators usually affix to them. See 
Inquiry, ch. xvii. pp. 355 — 362. 

§ Luke vi. 20—26. ''Blessed be ye that hunger now, for ye shall be filled, 
&c But woe unto you that are rich, for ye have received your 



408 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

about to be revealed, or in an unseen state in heaven, is urged as 
the proper object of men's constant thought and desire.* The 
duty of self-denial seems to be inculcated to an extent - ) - more con- 
sistent with the spirit of monachism, than with that cheerful 
morality which would enlarge, rather than restrict, the bounds of 
innocent enjoyment. It seems not unlikely that Jesus, notwith- 
standing his general intellectual superiority and more liberal 
nature, had not entirely lost that estimation of monastic austerity 
and excessive heavenly -mindedness, which characterized the whole 
body of the Essenes. Hence those individuals or sects, in the 
Christian world, who have striven to attain a close conformity to 
the whole of the precepts of Jesus, have usually found themselves 
in a singular or isolated position with respect to the society around 
them, whose less stringent faith impeded but slightly the operation 
of natural reason and feeling. For these reasons, it is possible 
that the precepts of the Gospels may not appear a complete and 
'safe code of morality to the philanthropist or legislator who deems 
that the appointed chief object of human effort is the increase of 
happiness and improvement upon this earth. 

It is true also, that the doctrine to which we have referred, soon 
ceased to be the most conspicuous feature in the early church. 
The followers of Jesus, after some time, thought it of more con- 
sequence to assert the resurrection and apotheosis of their lost 
master, and the eternal reward prepared for his disciples, than to 
adhere to his own most prominent doctrine. The expectation held 
by Jesus of an approaching speedy fulfilment of his anticipa- 
tions, would not lead him to enjoin the proclamation of these 
anticipations as the permanent distinguishing doctrine of his fol- 
lowers ; and they were naturally led to adopt as their leading tenets 
those which the progress of events and opinions rendered most 
interesting. 

It may be asked why, on this hypothesis of imperfect views and 
mixed motives on the part of the Founder of Christianity, this age 
should be inclined to render him any allegiance whatever, and to 
connect his name more than those of many other reformers, possi- 
bly more wise and enlightened, with the cause of human improve- 
ment ? If he were not God, nor the Son of God, nor a prophet, 



consolation," &c. In the parable of Lazarus, Abraham appears to represent to 
the rich man, that he his tormented because he had received good things in 
his lifetime, not because he had misused those good things : Luke xvi. 25. 

* Matt. vi. 19—21. 

f Matt. xvi. 24—26 ; Luke ix. 23—25. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 409 

not even the wisest philosopher, or most perfect moral being that 
we can conceive of ; if he were, in fact, only a Jewish peasant of 
intellect, imagination, and moral feeling, much, although not 
immeasurably, above the standard of his age and country ; why 
should his name be enshrined in this costly manner more than those 
of many other philanthropists, which would now be scarcely recog- 
nized by any but the students of biographical dictionaries ? 

Because the Christian system, in addition to such intrinsic 
excellence as it possesses, has been long interwoven with some of 
the best affections of mankind, and has been forced upon their 
notice by a striking series of events. There may be writers who 
have drawn up theories of morals more complete, and more in- 
variably correct, than that which can be collected from the New 
Testament. But human nature is so constructed, that other things 
besides correctness give a man's opinions a title to perpetual 
remembrance. Action in the world, even more than thought in 
the closet, contributes to an enduring memorial. If Jesus had 
merely written in a formal treatise what he could say concerning 
morals, his name might never perhaps have reached us : certainly 
it would have attracted less notice than that of the more copious 
and systematic Jewish moralist, Jesus the son of Sirach. But he 
also stood forth as a public reformer, opposed his own more liberal 
spirit to the bigotry of his time, arrested men's attention by assum- 
ing the remarkable character of Messiah, and died a martyr. In 
his own personal career, he illustrated much of his precepts, and 
especially faith in heaven as the philosophy of suffering. The 
romance and pathos thus attached to his history, have given him 
a hold upon faculties of men more powerful than mere reason, and 
stamped all that proceeds from him with a weight and interest 
which the mass of mankind would be slow to feel in mere philo- 
sophical merit. The hero of tales like those of the four Gospels, 
must ever be listened to with more attention than one who issues 
the most luminous disquisitions from the closet. So also the fol- 
lowers of Jesus were not merely writers, but by means of their 
organization, missions, and purity of life, revolutionized the human 
mind throughout the Roman empire, and reared the reformed 
Judaism amidst the ruins of polytheism and heathen philosophy. 
A long train of events of great historical importance is traced back 
to the lives of the Nazarene and his friends. From them has 
proceeded a succession of remarkable developments of the human 
mind. The early churches, with their affectionate spirit of brother- 
hood, and the pompous hierarchies which afterwards trod on the 



410 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

necks of princes ; the desert cell of the solitary Egyptian, and the 
gorgeous cathedral with its solemn music and slow-moving trains 
of priests and virgins ; the councils of mitred and imperial meta- 
physicians, as well as associations of practical philanthropists ; 
the bigotry of inquisitions and crusades, as well as the calm 
resignation which in cloistered walls fixes its last hope on heaven ; 
all these are amongst the indices pointing to the immense influence, 
political and moral, which has been exercised upon the world for 
eighteen centuries by the Cross. 

It is not easy to decide the question, whether Christianity has 
hitherto produced more good or evil in the world. The varying 
systems of doctrines, which have passed under the name, may be 
considered as so many exciting causes, which, according to the 
prevailing dispositions of men, have promoted the growth of good 
or evil actions. The savage warrior of feudal times felt the name 
of Jesus chiefly as an incentive to exterminate the enemies of the 
Cross ; the humane philanthropist has endeavoured to honour the 
same name by traversing lands and seas to relieve the oppressed. 
The spirit of enterprize, war, and cruelty, would be impelled by its 
Christianity to a crusade, and choose for its favourite texts, "I am 
not come to send peace on earth, but a sword ; " and " He that hateth 
not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, yea, and his own 
life also, he cannot be my disciple." Benevolence would be quick- 
ened by the Gospel to a more active cultivation of the charities of 
life, and, throwing a veil over its harsher features, would select for 
its mottoes, " Do good unto all men," " Love your enemies." In the 
same manner, the desire of eternal salvation has added vehemence 
to the spirit ofpersecution on the one hand, and given consistency 
and perseverance to charitable effort on the other. The close con- 
nection which Christianity establishes between mind and its invisi- 
ble source, has tended to withdraw the unsocial spirit still deeper 
into morose solitude ; whilst, in the more kindly disposed, it has 
added to the character the charm arising from the capacity for the 
devotional sentiment. Thus may we find a Torquemada and Las 
Casas appealing to the same Gospel ; nor is it easy even for the 
most impartial to ascertain the balance of good or evil which it 
has been the means of drawing forth, during the few stages of 
man's history, which have yet witnessed its operation. Yet, if it 
be admitted that stagnation is the worst evil which can befal the 
human mind, a system, which has called forth so many powerful 
energies, has at least a claim to prior consideration, even though 
these energies may have been hitherto in great part misdirected. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 411 

It is impossible to estimate Christianity fairly by reviewing the 
conduct of its professed votaries in past ages ; since history evidently 
does not supply the means of separating accurately that part of 
their conduct which was produced by their Christianity, from that 
which originated in their own inherent dispositions or other cir- 
cumstances. We must appeal to the judgment of the enlightened 
modern moralist on the tendency of the New Testament, consisting 
of the story of Jesus and his disciples, and their precepts. Does 
he find the prevailing sentiments arising from the study of these 
records, upon the whole greatly favourable to his views? Does 
he find in them so much that is accordant with truth and virtue, 
that it is desirable to retain the name of Christ and the Scriptures 
as useful and powerful allies, in all those schemes for human im- 
improvement which the increased knowledge of modern times 
sanctions ? 

Now, it will scarcely be denied by the attentive reader of the 
New Testament, that even though there be some things which he 
may regard with doubt or disapprobation, there is much which 
awakens the best feelings more powerfully than could be effected 
by the most correct formal treatise on morals. Here, in the pleas- 
ing style of eastern apophthegm and parable, we find pictures of 
the final triumph of righteousness ; the principle of benevolence 
enforced in a manner which allows of its application to the most 
extended views of the promoter of social improvement ; and a 
general inculcation of the milder virtues which humanize mankind. 
The contemplation of the Deity is recommended under an aspect 
agreeable to reason, and congenial to the wants of the mind. Ad- 
versity meets with sympathy, and is directed to doctrines most 
calculated to give strength and patience, submission to the Divine 
will, and the hope of a future state. All this appears here with 
the weight due to things spoken by men who have acted an im- 
portant part in the world ; here, both romance and reality combine 
to impart interest to the precept. Where shall we find the disser- 
tation on moral sentiments which speaks like the Gospels ; where 
the professor of ethics who appeals to us with the same force as the 
inimitable Galilean, who teaches from the mount and the sea-side ; 
is comforted by angels, the spirits which minister heaven's secret 
aid to the soul ; and — -the inevitable anticipation of human nature 
on behalf of dying merit — rises from the dead, and ascends to the 
right hand of God ? 

With no hostility, then, towards Christ and Christianity may 
the Theist renounce his faith in miracles and prophecy ; and with- 
out inconsistency may be willing that the long train of associations 



412 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

which Christianity possesses with the history, the literature, the 
poetry, the moral and religious feelings of mankind, should long 
contribute their powerful influences in behalf of the cause of human 
improvement. Let all benefactors of mankind continue to look to 
Jesus as their forerunner in this great cause, and recognize a kindred 
mind in the Galilean who preached lessons of wisdom and benevo- 
lence in an early age of the world, and fell a sacrifice to the noble 
idea of introducing a kingdom of heaven upon earth. Let the 
good Samaritan still be cited as the example of humanity ; the 
passover-supper be remembered as the farewell of Jesus to his 
friends ; and God be worshipped under the character which he 
attributed to him, — the Father in heaven. Let painting and music 
still find solemn themes in the realities and fables relating to Jesus ; 
let feasts and holidays still take their names from the events of 
his life, our time be dated from his birth, and our temples be sur- 
mounted by his cross. 

Christianity, then, has been neither evil nor useless ; but out 
of it will proceed a further mental growth. The religion of Egypt, 
Judaism, Christianity, and the more advanced system, which at a 
future time may, by the appearance of some remarkable individual, 
or combination of events, come to be designated by another name, 
■ — 'are all so many successive developments of the religious principle, 
which, with the progress of mankind, will assume a form con- 
tinually approaching nearer to perfect truth. And in proportion 
as other religions make the same approximation, it will be gra- 
dually recognized that God hath made all nations of one mind, as 
well as of one blood, to dwell upon all the face of the earth. 



In this early age of the world, it is impossible to foresee the 
whole of the creed at which unimpeded reason will ultimately 
arrive on the subject of religion. On this, more than on any other 
subject, the love of pure truth has been checked by interest, preju- 
dice, and fear. The pressing wants of the human mind in this 
respect, co-existing with ignorance, have enabled the artful and 
ambitious to make religion peculiarly an instrument for their pur- 
poses ; whilst the love of ease has led the mass of mankind to 
acquiesce readily in an usurpation, which, whatever were its incon- 
veniences, pretended to satisfy fully their spiritual wants. To 
submit to authority, with all its burdensome terms, has been found 
by the world in general an easier bargain than to incur the labour 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 413 

of thought ; and those who preferred the latter could only expect 
to be regarded, even amidst the loudest proclamations of liberty 
of conscience, with the dislike naturally felt towards those whose 
conduct tends to render men dissatisfied with a favourite purchase. 
And the more so, since this purchase was felt by the many to be 
the only means in their power of satisfying their want. Whilst 
nature was imperfectly understood, and the intellectual powers 
were but little cultivated, the many felt themselves incapable, by 
means of their own native powers, of drawing clearly from the 
universe around them the conclusions which occasionally seemed 
to break indistinctly upon them, but which their minds required in 
full assurance. Earth and skies continually suggested the idea of 
a First Cause, the knowledge of which seemed to be a natural 
want of the mind, and must influence materially the conduct. But 
was this instinctive feeling to be taken as full evidence of the 
existence of that towards which it was directed ? — and if not, how 
should minds oppressed with worldly cares, uneducated, or having 
but imperfect help from science, work out such a vast conclusion 
from their own resources ? A word from Heaven would aid their 
weakness, solve their doubts, and afford them the delight of faith, 
without the trouble of acquiring it. What wonder, then, that men 
professing to have received this message from heaven, or to be 
its interpreters, should find a ready submission to their claims, 
succeed in having them admitted without a very rigid scrutiny, and 
continue to find docile recipients even long after they had begun, 
instead of bread, to give stones ? During the ages of mankind's 
moral and intellectual minority, it seems indeed natural that autho- 
rity, derived from the ascendancy of some few superior individuals, 
should exercise guardianship over the human mind, and provide its 
necessary food until full-grown reason should be able both to guide 
and nourish itself. Hence the philanthropist regards with com- 
placency the various Revelations which have afforded to men 
spiritual supplies, although not of unmixed purity ; and hears, in 
the supposed direct voices from heaven, prelude-sounds of the voice 
which speaks through nature and reason in a tone rising slowly 
into clearness in the lapse of ages. 

But in time the human mind feels disposed to claim its birth- 
right of free judgment, and takes pleasure in the task of providing 
for its own wants. It finds a necessity not only to live, but to 
think. It looks upon the forest, the hill, and the star, not only 
as a panorama intended to give a momentary gratification to the 
eye, but as volumes calling to deep thought. It sees that the 



414 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

universe gradually unrolls a succession of lessons which speak both 
to the intellect and to the heart, and conjectures that there may 
still lie some of surpassing importance, at present unsuspected, be- 
neath the material surface of things. These, the sustained labour 
of the human mind for many centuries will have to bring to light ; 
nor does it appear a strange dispensation that moral wealth, any 
more than physical, should be the result of the accumulated earn- 
ings of many generations, by means of labour in itself pleasing and 
beneficial. 

It would be unreasonable to expect that the ultimate conclusions 
of the mind on religious subjects should accord fully with any one 
of those early substitutes for developed reason, called Revelations. 
But as these could not have obtained prevalence unless they were, 
to a great extent, in accordance with some natural human senti- 
ments, it may be conjectured that, in some important features at 
least, they will be found to agree with the conclusions referred to. 

The first question which occurs, after renouncing revelation, is, 
whether it be in reality necessary or natural to the mind- to have 
any religion at all. Why should we seek the unseen, when there 
is so much actually before the eye ? Does not the world, cognizable 
by our senses, afford enough to interest, occupy, and direct us, 
during our threescore years and ten ? Does not nature supply 
ample materials to delight the senses, science to employ the intel- 
lect, and the results of conduct enough to engage us on the side 
of virtue? Can anything more than this be of any practical value ? 
May it not be a delusion to suppose that there is any real Exist- 
ence beyond what appears ; or, at least, that such Existence is any 
concern of ours ? If there be a God, and if it were intended that 
we should know him and think of him, would he not have pub- 
lished himself in such clear characters as none could overlook ? 
Cease, then, to fatigue thyself with abstractions : thyself and the 
things around thee are real, but the unseen is a visionary specula- 
tion. Cease thy restless and unsatisfying researches into the 
cause of things, and be content with the study of things them- 
selves : release thy mind from its painful efforts to reach what 
either is not, or is not by thee attainable; use and enjoy all the 
good within thy reach ; view thyself as one small pivot in a ma- 
chine of which it is no business of thine to discover the origin or 
the object; find in mankind and nature the only proper spheres 
of action and thought ; and dare to confess to thyself, if not to a 
prejudiced and insincere world, "to me there is no God." 

Yet the mind cannot rest here. It feels that such reasoning 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 415 

calls upon it to restrict some of its highest powers from their due 
exercise. To rest contented with what we see, is not in man. No 
dogma ever imposed by the most wanton church authority ever 
met with so much opposition, as would be encountered in the 
attempt to restrict men from inquiring into and forming theories 
concerning the Cause of the immense effects around tbem. In 
proportion as the mind awakes into life, it demands some kind of 
answer to the questions, What is the cause of all being ? — and, 
Have we anything to do with this cause ? The indolent will fly to 
the nearest or most familiar authority for satisfaction ; but few, who 
have once discovered the want, can be content to leave the vacancy 
entirely unfilled. Every view of nature revives the questions ; 
the beautiful and sublime in the earth and heavens are felt to be 
something beneath the powers of man, if regarded only as affording 
gratification to the senses and fancy ; deeper chords lie in him 
waiting to be struck; and what he sees must ere long suggest to 
him the knowledge and love of the unseen. 

It cannot be denied that this train of thought is not entered 
into readily at all times, or by all. A large proportion of man- 
kind, including many of the moral and talented, are too much 
occupied with active pursuits to bestow more than a slight pass- 
ing attention on such abstract subjects as the cause of things, the 
nature of Deity, and the like. These subjects they leave to the 
clergy. Their importance even makes men unwilling to touch 
them with that insufficient degree of thought which they have been 
able to bestow upon them. Hence some questions of the deepest 
interest lose the benefit of that free unrestrained discussion which 
is the surest method of evolving truth. The reverence which 
keeps men at a distance makes them also lose sight of an object; 
to keep up an interest, they must be allowed to approach and 
inspect. Neutrality, however, arising from these causes, is not 
indifference. Although disinclined to dwell frequently upon reli- 
gious subjects, most of the practical men referred to, the promoters 
of the business of the world, admit their importance in regard to 
individual and social happiness. The legislator or citizen may have 
seldom thought upon the proofs of the existence of an Intelligent 
first cause ; he has neither had time to study the arguments of 
natural theology, nor the evidences of revelation : but he is able 
to appreciate some of the effects which the recognition of a God 
produces upon the moral condition of men ; he feels that such a 
belief is satisfactory to the mind, and comes in aid of every plan 
for improving society. He judges of the tree by its fruits. Unable 



416 



CHRISTIAN THEISM, 



himself to discover the root, he yet concludes that the source from 
which proceed so many ramifications bearing palpable and useful 
effects, cannot itself be a mere visionary abstraction, existing only 
in the brains of theologians and metaphysicians. His short rea- 
soning is, — I see that it is well for men to believe that God is ; 
therefore he is. Yet, conscious of some deficiency in this reasoning, 
he gladly receives the assistance which any well-reputed authority 
offers ; and especially welcomes that, which, from antiquity, vested 
interests, and the countenance of large influential bodies of men, 
appears to him to have had hitherto the greatest weight, — the 
revealed Word of God. 

The conduct, then, of the majority of enlightened and benevolent 
practical men, who devote but little attention to religious subjects, 
is not a proof of latent Atheism, but proceeds rather from a per- 
suasion either that such subjects are out of their sphere, or have 
been already determined upon by higher authority. Truths of this 
kind, they admit, are of great practical importance ; but it is their 
part to act quickly, rather than to think deeply : the divine pre- 
sence is not felt in the crowd, nor the divine voice distinguished 
amidst the hum of men. Let him who has leisure seek for truth 
in the groves, endeavour to catch those whispers of Nature which 
are only heard in her most lonely recesses, and impart the precious 
oracles to the world. 

Solitude is indispensable to deep thought, and consequently to 
the discovery of truth. The laws of gravitation were discovered 
by much patient calculation and reflection, apart from the multi- 
tude. Hence it would be no objection to the doctrine of an Intel- 
ligent first cause, if it were admitted that it is not obvious at first 
sight ; that by men of the world it is held chiefly in deference to 
authority, or for the sake of expediency; and that a real conviction 
of its truth is attained only by the few who are able to retire into 
themselves to think. The tendency of abstract truths to fade 
away from the mind, when engaged in active pursuits, is no argu- 
ment against their reality. The laws of Kepler, which appeared 
so clear and striking to the student in his observatory, may be 
remembered as uninteresting and even doubtful visions, after he 
has been for a long time immersed in things nearer to the 
senses, and forgotten the demonstration on which they rested ; but 
let him retire again into the stillness of nature, and endeavour to 
descry again the lost planetary characters ; — by degrees they come 
out into brightness and magnitude, and display again the astonish- 
ing declaration in full distinctness. So may it be with a greater 
revelation than these, — the existence of God. Nature bears it 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 417 

inscribed in all parts ; but man is not able immediately to read it. 
By degrees only he learns the characters which convey the deep 
sense, and what he has learned by intent meditation occasionally 
seems to fade away : nevertheless Nature still remains ; and what- 
ever truths she really bears inscribed, must continually re-appear 
to him who seeks her, and, in the end, be brought out in clear- 
ness to the whole world. The hieroglyphics are ineffaceable ; the 
tablet is continually within view ; time, then, must ever bring men 
nearer to Nature's great revelation, the full knowledge of God.* 

Atheism asserts that we have no right to infer the existence of 
anything more than what appears to our senses. The universe 
exists, and may be called God, if we will ; but where and what is 
God, distinct from the Universe ? This great Whole exists ; — why, 
we can no more tell than we can why there should always have 
been an universal Nothing : but how is the difficulty removed by 
supposing an imaginary being distinct from the universe, whom 
we call its Creator ? The problem is merely shifted, for we can 
no more account for this being's existence, than we could for that 
of the universe. "What caused God, is as hard to answer as, what 
caused the universe. We may as well acquiesce in ignorance at 
the first step. Unless we invent another cause which caused God, 
and continue to suppose preceding causes ad infinitum, it is evi- 
dent that we must somewhere be content to admit a first uncaused 
cause ; and why not admit it at once in that which appears before 
us as a palpable fact, this material universe itself, of which we 
and all things are parts ? What necessity for imagining an intel- 
ligent creator ? Of ten million possible forms of matter, we see the 
one which is. The universe exists ; every thing that exists must 
have certain properties ; the universe possesses the property of 
unfolding in succession various forms of matter, organization, and 
life. All around us is the result of the inherent powers of nature, 
or, in other words, the necessary properties of the universal matter. 
To admit that matter exists with these properties, is no more diffi- 
cult than to admit that it exists at all. If matter exist uncaused, 
having extension and solidity, it may also exist uncaused, having 
the property of developing life. Where we can trace the causes 
of any effects which we see, let us admit them, but not invent 
fanciful ones. That this wondrous harmonious whole exists, is a 

* The religion of the universe consists in knowing God ; and that know- 
ledge is not a simultaneous burst of light, or lights, upon the mind, but an 
accumulation of particulars perpetually increasing ; and hence it is in con- 
formity with the slow but certain intellectual advancement of man. — Dr. 
Fellowes' Religion of the Universe, p. 121. 



418 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

fact; that Intelligence caused it, and sits an invisible potentate 
guiding and directing it, — is a dream. 

This is Atheism. It bids us sink into incurious repose unseen 
causes, as being neither our concern, nor within our reach. And 
if man could indeed extend his thoughts no farther than to what 
he saw and touched, he must acquiesce in this barren negation of 
inquiry. But a prominent part of his nature, the reflective and 
moral, asserts its right and capacity to penetrate beyond what is 
seen, and presses Atheism with the further question, — Is it more 
reasonable to suppose that this universe has been produced by 
Intelligence or not ? 

If we can imagine ourselves placed in a situation where there 
was no analogy to guide us, i. e., where we had no experience of 
the kind of effects which Intelligence is capable of producing, the 
question might be very difficult to answer. Yet here we should 
only be compelled to confess ignorance : we should say, we cannot 
tell whether this universe exists without any cause beyond what 
we see ; it does not appear clearly absurd, although difficult to 
conceive, that matter should have, of its own nature, a non-intelli- 
gent power of developing the various forms which make up the 
universe. This power might be either the necessary result of the 
known properties of matter, extension, solidity, attraction, mobility, 
and the like, in certain combinations ; or it might be some addi- 
tional property, distinct from all these, but, like them, non-intelli- 
gent. This does not at once appear impossible. But neither, on 
the other hand, does it appear absurd that there should be some 
further cause for the development of nature, viz., either some 
property of matter of a different kind from those mentioned, or 
something altogether independent of matter. If Intelligence be 
proposed as this further cause, we ought to have an example of 
what it is, and a specimen of the effects which it is known to pro- 
duce. Then only can we judge whether Intelligence be a proper 
and probable cause of the effects which we see in the universe. 

Now, we have an instance both of what intelligence is, and of 
the effects which it is capable of producing, viz. in ourselves, and 
in the results of mankind's inventive powers. The question sup- 
posed is answered by an analogy between the effects which human 
intelligence is known to produce, and those which we see in nature. 
The progress both of art and science continually strengthens the 
analogy ; that of the former by affording a more complete instance 
of the known effects of intelligence, that of the latter by extending 
our knowledge of nature. 

Let us imagine ourselves placed before a varied landscape, of 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 419 

which one feature is a noble mansion. The question occurs to us., 
"What caused that mansion ? Unless we call in that extreme 
scepticism which appears sometimes in our disputations, but never 
in our practice, we reply at once, the intelligence or mind* of the 
builder, and feel perfectly satisfied with the answer. Although 
we had not seen that particular mansion built, we had seen other 
similar artificial structures in the process of building, or we had 
had opportunities of knowing what means were employed in raising 
such structures ; and in all cases we had invariably found that the 
mind of a builder was necessary to produce the building. In the 
particular instance before us, we could not refuse to recognize a 
similar cause, although unseen to us, without doing violence to 
that principle of our mental constitution which leads us to infer 
the connection of similar causes with similar effects ; a principle 
which is practically admitted as a sure and sufficient basis for the 
whole reasoning and conduct of life. To the suggestion, that 
although other mansions were produced by the mind of a builder, 
yet that particular one might have existed for ever, or come into 
being without any cause beyond the inherent properties of the 
materials themselves — we should answer, that hitherto we had had no 
experience of an instance of this kind, nor any reason to believe that 
there had ever been such an instance ; that consequently we must 
rest in the conviction which common sense, or reasoning flowing 
from the natural healthy use of the faculties, forced upon us ; viz. 
a conviction derived from an accessible and abundant analogy. 

The mansion, then, was caused by mind ; — what caused the 
other parts of the landscape, the trees, the grass, the water, the 
sun, and the animals? Analogy forces upon us here, also, the 
answer, — Mind. 

For those appearances in the mansion which indicate to us so 
irresistibly the agency of mind, the adaptation of materials to each 
other in such a manner as to produce a beautiful or useful result, 
are found in greater force and. variety in the scenery around. A 
single leaf, blade of grass, or limb of an animal, when we come to 



* Intelligence, or the reasoning power, is one of the manifestations of Mind ; 
but Mind may include much more, sentiments and affections for instance. 
I prefer to fall into the use of the more general term, because the same kind 
of reasoning which leads us to infer intelligence in the creating principle, 
may lead us to infer more. There is no incorrectness in adopting the wider 
term, because wherever there is intelligence there must be mind ; and there 
is a convenience in giving to the principle referred to a name, which without 
necessarily implying, allows room for, the further qualities which may appear 
attributable to it. 



420 • . CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

examine it, displays joints, vessels, tubes, and other apparatus, 
more varied and highly finished than any in the artificial structure 
and its contents. Yet, in many parts, there is sufficient resem- 
blance to impress us with the conviction of the same kind of 
mental agency. 

This common argument from design does not always strike us 
with much force when viewing objects in nature, because we forget 
or overlook the fact, that these objects are each of them the result 
of an arrangement of very complicated parts. From ignorance 
or indolence, we are apt to fall into the habit of looking upon a plant, 
an animal, a planet, or even the universe, as one simple whole or 
unit, and dispose of all nature with as much ease as if it were one 
ultimate globule. But science puts before us, in all directions, 
microscopes, telescopes, and analysing instruments, and accustoms 
us to see in all the wholes which present themselves skilful adapt- 
ations of numerous parts. In proportion, then, as scientific 
attainments become familiar and common, men will be able to 
recognize, without effort, the traces of mind in the various material 
forms which surround them. At first, the lesson was spelled out 
with difficulty ; but, by long acquaintance with the characters, a 
meaning is inevitably perceived whenever we glance on a page. 
Nature, in every part, will at length present to us an easily under- 
stood as well as deeply interesting meaning, the evidence of a 
beneficent mental Energy, manifested in moulding matter into 
innumerable forms of the beautiful and useful. 

Nature, in its most obvious aspects, does not at once impress us 
with the idea of design. The rocks, the woods, the sea, and the 
stars, seem thrown together with a wildness and irregularity, which 
rather leave the idea of chance. Some degree of science is neces- 
sary to the first conceptions of design. The motions of the 
heavenly bodies, the watering of the earth by means of rain, and 
the adaptation of the productions of the earth to the wants of 
animals, present, however, appearances of arrangement open to the 
slightest observation, and seem to have first led men to the idea of 
an Intelligent cause. As the observation of nature, or science, 
proceeds, instances of arrangement multiply on all sides, till the 
moss on the rudest fragment in the wilderness, or the wave which 
washes the wildest beach, are found to contain specimens of minute 
mechanism. Nature is not loquacious, although filled with inex- 
haustible stores ; she presents enough at first sight to attract the 
thoughtful ; but mankind must interrogate and study her for many 
ages, in order to come at all, perhaps to a thousandth part, of that 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 421 

which she has to communicate. The brilliant appearance of the 
heavens, and a few of the planetary motions, were enough to re- 
ward the gaze of the first Chaldean shepherds ; but the persevering 
assiduity of mankind, from Hipparchus to Herschel, was necessary 
to procure them an insight into the depths of the universe. 

In the present age, science is sufficiently advanced to present 
abundant instances of harmonious arrangement, whether in earth, 
seas, or skies. But the conviction of an Intelligent cause does 
not appear invariably to accompany scientific progress. This may 
proceed from two causes ; first, from a disinclination to exercise 
the reflecting powers on unseen causes, whilst visible effects present 
such ample and ready themes of contemplation. Acquiescence in 
this disposition of mind appears to be the chief argument of 
Atheism, which does not so much deny the existence of unseen 
causes, as refuse to enter into the search for them. But it seems 
improbable that a progressive knowledge of the mental constitu- 
tion will sanction as true philosophy, that which appears to be a 
mere restriction of the reflective faculties. 

Or, the non-acknowledgment of an Intelligent cause, even after 
an extensive acquaintance with science, may proceed from that 
over-scrupulousness, or indecision of mind, which refuses to admit 
any principle on the ground of high probability, or to receive any 
proposition whilst the contrary is barely possible. This is extreme 
scepticism, condemned as unreasonable by the general practice of 
mankind. The evidences of design in nature, similar to those 
which appear in art, crowd in upon us from every side. If in the 
latter case the agency of mind be admitted, why should men demur 
at admitting it in the former ? Perhaps, from a suspicion that 
the analogy may not be sufficiently close. 

In some steam-engines, we find that the steam, after having 
performed its office in raising and depressing the piston, passes 
into the condenser, and becomes cold water, being in this state no 
longer fit for the purposes of the engine. But we find also an ap- 
paratus of pipes for conveying this cold water again to the boiler, 
that very part where there is a provision for converting it again 
into steam. That this apparatus is the effect of design or mind, 
we feel convinced of by the sight of it, and should acquire little or 
no addition to our certainty, if the maker were to stand visibly 
before us and declare himself as such. Even though we had never 
seen a steam-engine before, yet our certainty on this point would 
not be less, if we had been in the habit of witnessing mechanical 
contrivances. 



422 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

In the human body, we find that the arterial blood, after having 
supplied nourishment to various glands, becomes unfit for further 
use ; and we find a system of veins for carrying it back to the 
heart, that very part which, by a connection with the lungs, con- 
tains a provision for re-converting it into arterial. 

Now, the circumstance which compels us to infer mental agency 
in the former case, the adaptation of parts to produce a certain 
end, exists equally, at least, in the latter. We must infer mental 
agency here also by the law of our nature, which compels us to 
infer similar causes from similar effects. 

As in the various works of human art we recognize the same 
kind of mental agency, which we call intelligence, although in 
different degrees, acccording as the works are better or worse con- 
trived, and, for aught we know, combined with different accom- 
panying qualties in each artificer ; so do we recognize the same 
kind of agency, intelligence, in nature, although here it may be of 
a different degree, and possibly combined in the artificer with 
other qualities different from those belonging to human inventors. 

In examining the columnar carnece, the semilunar valves, or other 
contrivances of nature, the thought frequently occurs, either that 
this is similar to what some ingenious mechanist has contrived, or 
what he might have invented by bestowing sufficient consideration 
upon it. So strong is the conviction of similarity of effect between 
nature and art, that many of the contrivances in the former do not 
appear to us, even in degree, absolutely beyond the scope of hu- 
man ingenuity, if but time and means enough had been granted. 

So long, then, as the constitution of our minds compels us to 
reason from analogy, the proposition that the works of nature pro- 
ceed from the development of the inherent powers of matter, can 
no more satisfy us than if the same were proposed as the cause of 
the works of art. 

It has been argued, that we cannot apply analogy to find the 
cause of the universe, because this is an unique, and we have no 
other caused universe to compare it with.* But we can compare 
it with parts of itself, viz. ourselves and our works ; and it does 
not appear why analogies arising thence should not have as much 
weight as if we could compare one universe with another. We 
have a right to reason from what we know ; we are so placed as 



* See Hume's Inquiry concerning the Human Understanding, Section xi. 
near the end. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 428 

to see causes in some small parts of the universe, and thence, by 
analogy, to infer something of the nature of the cause of the 
whole. 

Imagine the inhabitant of a distant country, in some degree 
acquainted with mechanical contrivances, inspecting an European 
steam-engine or watch. By long study he comes to perceive the 
object of the machine, and the adaptation of parts so as to effect 
that object. Knowing his own power of putting together matter 
witb some degree of success, so as to produce certain effects, he 
concludes, rationally, that the machine before him must have pro- 
ceeded from a being resembling himself in the possession of such 
a power. He may be ignorant of the form, colour, habits, and 
language of the unknown artist, but he reads his mind with as 
much certainty as if he stood before him ; for the machine speaks 
in a language which needs no translation. If neither time, nor 
space, could hinder the intelligent Japanese from recognizing the 
kindred mind of the European by means of its works ; why should 
time, space, or any other mode of separation, prevent any think- 
ing man from recognizing the kindred mind of the First Cause by 
means of its works ? Whether the unseen existence be separated 
from us by land, seas, and years, or by a different mode of being, 
matters not, if the work speaks clearly. The distance of the pole- 
star could not prevent the electric recognition ; neither can the 
more impassible chasm between us and an existence shrouded 
from our senses. 

It might be objected that this mode of analogical reasoning 
would prove too much, and lead us to conclude that the First Cause 
has material organs like our own, since we infer the existence of 
these, as well as of mind, from all specimens of human art. But 
this objection supposes an abuse of analogy. We certainly do 
infer that, with respect to pieces of workmanship, apparently of 
human origin, the originators had, in all probability, hands and 
feet like our own ; because we believe that there are no beings on 
the earth possessing the requisite mental endowments, except such 
as have likewise these organs as their means of acting on matter. 
But we could not infer justly that other beings, having mind, might 
not have different organs wherewith to operate on matter. A 
piece of mechanism, known to be brought from some part of the 
earth, leads us to infer, without much hesitation, that the maker 
had hands or feet. But if another piece of mechanism were 
brought to us, known to come from another planet, we should only 
dare to infer that the maker had some kind of prehensile power, 



424 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

by means of which he had put together the material parts. The 
intricacy and perfection of the work, if apparently surpassing 
human art, might lead us to conclude that the unknown maker had 
means of penetrating into and guiding matter, more subtle and 
more effective than any buman organ or instrument. They might 
be, in these respects, so different from human organs, that a com- 
parison between the two could only be admitted as figurative. The 
mind, by means of the human hand alone, affects matter slowly 
and clumsily ; it learns to employ, in some degree, instruments 
provided by nature, from tbe wooden staff to the electric fluid and 
chemical solvent. But other minds might be gifted with the means 
of grasping more directly the forces of nature, and of employing 
them with a facility, and to an extent, by us unattainable. They 
might cleave with the lightning, and communicate by the thunder. 
Where, from the effects, we should judge that this great prehen- 
sility of the forces of nature had existed, we should conclude that 
the operating mind had been endowed with means of influencing 
matter more efficacious than our organs. 

In the universe the mental agency appears to have operated 
upon matter, with a range and a subtilty, which are expressed in 
the description, — an Almighty pervading soul. The arm reaches 
beyond the farthest star, yet discriminates the breadth of a hair ; 
it projects the heavy planet, and moulds the minutest particle. 
It is impossible to imagine that mind, acting through human 
organs, or any resembling them, could, after ages of essay and im- 
provement, ever approach the operation of that agency either in 
magnitude or exquisiteness. To form a work, not only perfect in 
itself, but also containing a provision for producing its like in end- 
less succession, would probably for ever baffle human ingenuity. 
But this is one of the most common properties of the works of 
nature. It is so difficult to imagine any kind of organs, by which 
such an universal efficient sway over matter could have been exerted, 
that we naturally acquire the notion that the first Causing Mind 
must have operated upon matter direct, without the intervention 
of any organs, and that every atom must have obeyed its influence 
with the same promptness as the nerve obeys human volition. 

Analogy, then, leads us to infer that the works of nature were 
caused by some kind of mind, as well as the works of art. But 
so far from proving that that mind operated by means of organs 
resembling ours, it rather brings us to the conclusion, that it must 
have had means of influencing matter very different from ours. 
The man moves bodies by impulses of his limbs ; we can imagine 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 425 

a being gifted with the power of doing so by directing towards 
the bodies at will the requisite degree of attraction or repulsion. 
More subtle agencies than these may be supposed to be subject to 
volition ; and thus may we refine from man's clumsy mode of 
operation, to a being in whom Mind acts directly and universally 
upon Matter. 

Even in the case of man, we know but little of the mode in 
which his mind acts upon matter. Our total ignorance of the 
mode of action of a divine mind does, therefore, by no means dis- 
prove such action. Neither is it a disproof of this, that we are 
ignorant of the mode of the divine existence, whether it pervades 
the whole material creation, as a soul the body; or sits an inde- 
pendent invisible potentate amidst its creatures. Ask also whether 
the Divine mind threw off the creation at once, perfect, and 
holding its own resources of progression and development, or 
whether his energy is perpetually required to uphold his work ; 
and the doubtfulness of the answer will perhaps be in proportion 
to the time of reflection. But where is the truth, the clearest 
ever acknowledged by men, which busy thought has not soon 
surrounded and clogged with embarrassing or unanswerable ques- 
tions ? Man knows nothing but what lies close to something 
unknown or unknowable. 

How can God exist ? Answer first, how does man exist ? Man 
is not the hand, nor the foot, nor the stomach, nor the brain, nor 
even the eye ; but in the combined action of all his material parts 
do we recognize the man. And what is this action? Continue to 
question thus ; and the wisest deed, and the most expressive glance, 
are resolved into the motion of sundry clusters of oxygen, carbon, 
and the like, in different directions. Man himself shrinks into an 
abstraction, which soon becomes so hazy, that, if his existence de- 
pended on our power to define him, we should begin to doubt if we 
really had any fellow-creatures.* 

Nevertheless, man's existence is sufficiently palpable, although 
we cannot explain it. that the First Cause had made his at least 
equally so : that the awful Potentate had once unveiled himself to 



* Sic mentem honiinis, quanivis earn non videas, ut Deurn non vides, 
tamen ut Deum agnoscis ex operibus ejus ; sic ex memoria rerum et inven- 
tione, et celeritate motus, oinnique pulchritudine Tirtutis vim divinam 

mentis agnoscito Hlud modo videto, ut Deum ncris. etsi ejus ignores 

et locum et faciem, sic animum tibi tuum notum esse oportere, etiam si 
ignores et locumet formam. — Cicero, Tusc. BisjJ., lib. 1. cap. 29. 
cc 



426 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

our eyes, or that his voice had once broken through the obstinate 
silence of nature ! Then we must have believed, without, or in 
spite of, any reasoning. Why? because he would have appealed 
to our senses. Eeflect ; — and thou wilt find that he has appealed 
to some of man's highest senses, his moral and intellectual powers. 
He compliments man, by addressing the highest part of his 
nature. 

In what manner do we know a man best and most thoroughly ? 
By his appearance ? No. — By his conversation ? Better ; but 
not so well as by experiencing his conduct in a long series of deeds. 
These speak in the surest manner; tbey speak to our moral and 
intellectual senses : and thus may we know thoroughly him whom 
we have never seen or heard. 

And thus does God choose to speak to man — by deeds. A more 
subtle mode of communication than the brightest vision or the 
softest whisper ; but, to the thinking, more refined, more pleasing, 
more intelligible. Let children look for cherubim, and rhapsodists 
for voices from heaven ; mature reason and feeling appreciate more 
highly Works of beauty and beneficence. In what language 
should God have spoken to men from heaven, or written his mes- 
sage in the sky ? In Hebrew ! in Greek ! in Sanscrit ! He has 
chosen his own language ; and has he not well chosen ? Does not 
the rose or the hyacinth speak as plainly as could any noun or 
participle, the verdure running before the breeze exceed the sense 
of any aorist, and the star rising above the wood convey more than 
any Hebrew point? God can do more than hiphil and hophal, 
without pluperfect and paulo-post future : he is perfect in the 
language of signs, and the whole material creation is his symbol- 
picture to all ranks of intelligence. 

Yet God's magnificent language fails at times to convince us ; 
and restless scepticism suggests that, if the First Cause were really 
intelligent and beneficent mind, he might have made his existence 
more irresistibly clear to us. By what means ? Back thy utmost 
ingenuity, scepticism, and say what God should have done to con- 
vince thee. He might have planted an angel showman on each 
work of nature, to inform every visitant, in clear tones, that it was 
produced by intelligence and benevolence ; he might have fixed 
Uriel for ever in the sun, to trumpet forth to the planets that the 
fountain of their light and heat was derived from a first cause pro- 
vident and good : — would any deeper conviction really spring from 
the presence of these officious informants ? and would not Uriel 



•CHRISTIAN THEISM. 427 

himself soon come, to be considered the most superfluous piece of 
•work in the system ? Or, more solemn than this, the Divine Mind 
itself might make itself perceptible to man's senses by some perio- 
dical Shechinah, and above the sapphire pavement of the firmament, 
or in the amber-coloured vision surmounting the wheels, or from 
the pillar of fire, or in the still whisper, startle man at times with 
the presence of his God. But what would avail the visitation 
of the awful Presence ? If it proclaimed each time that itself was 
the first cause of nature, intelligent and benevolent, man would 
turn to nature for verification, and believe just so much of the pro- 
clamation as he found there confirmed. When accustomed to the 
visitation, he would gain little or no more certainty above that 
resulting from his inquiries into nature. He would give greater 
credence to the language to which God has, in fact, confined him- 
self, — the language of deeds. 

There is a composure and dignity in God's manner of proceeding 
which impresses more forcibly than could be done by the ostenta- 
tion of actual speech and appearance. He is seen and heard in 
his works. The universe is the splendid but quiet language in 
which he utters his stupendous " I am." What is it all for ? 
occurs to every one who looks on nature and thinks. The First 
Intelligence intended to make himself known to all emanating 
intelligences, and this is the way in which he has chosen to effect 
it ; it being as easy to him to throw off all this array of worlds 
and mechanism, as to set the types of two short words. 

Nature thus seen as the language of mind, assumes a brighter 
hue and more vigorous life, than when viewed under a mere mate- 
rial aspect. What is this lovely prospect of variegated fields and 
sunny sky, if nothing in it can feel like thyself, nor aught in 
it indicate the existence of perception kindred to thy own ? Ac- 
knowledge that it pleases the eye, invigorates health, and supplies 
forms to the fancy ; — this is much : but is not the profuse beauty 
of nature worthy to do more, and to speak to all that is highest in 
man, his admiration, love, and reverence ? It does so, as soon as 
we see in Nature the offspring and index of Mind. What is all 
this prodigious array of shining globes, if they tell of nothing 
more than themselves, insentient moving masses, fit to employ 
arithmetic and geometry with counting their numbers and laws ? 
Even when the deepest and most magnificent apartments of nature 
are thrown open, the soul remains solitary and chill at the sight of 
them alone, and asks if all this costly pile be intended to gratify 



428 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

only a small part of the man, leaving his more god-like faculties 
uninvited strangers ? Does Nature indeed, in her softest recesses 
or most gorgeous displays, aim merely at inciting man to see, hear, 
smell, and calculate ? Yet what more than this can he do amidst 
mere matter, however large or small, or swift or slow? But admit 
Mind as the cause of all, the pervader and beholder of all, and the 
chasm is filled ; man also admires, loves, and venerates. A vivi- 
fying spirit is infused into creation, and gives the response which 
his soul demanded. The desert is not solitude, nor the sea dreari- 
ness. The thoughts of the unseen mental causes, which become 
associated with all the objects of nature, leave no want of Dryads 
in the woods, Naiads in the brooks, or Genii in the air. The Sun 
proclaims more vitality than light and heat, as he mounts above 
the hill ; the Moon's crescent bends before the pervading Spirit ; 
Arcturus follows his wain round the pole, and Andromeda rises 
from the wave, in unwearied obedience to the Invisible ; the Pleiads 
shake adoration as well as radiance from their glittering cluster ; 
and all the mystic forms of the sky seem to look on the earth with 
awful silent life, — for each and all are the work, the voice, and the 
token, of Living Mind. 

But, the laws of nature ! inflexible, insensible, but all moving ; 
do they not reduce the universe to a regular perpetually-going 
piece of clock-work, and exclude mind by filling all with lifeless 
iron mechanism? All this beauty and harmony is merely the con- 
sequence of each atom's obedience to its own laws. What causes 
the course of the planet ? Not God, but attraction of gravitation. 
What causes attraction ? Some preceding necessary property of 
matter, which science will by and by discover. For each of the 
enormous collection of effects constituting the whole which we see, 
we find, on examination, a material cause, with another material 
cause behind it ; and when we have discovered causes which appear 
invariably to precede certain effects, we call the sequence a law of 
nature. Admit the laws of nature to be, and what necessity for 
God ? Explore the chains of causes and effects ; — as far as we 
can trace them, no mind appears ; the links join on perfectly, 
although only material, in the portion before us ; and so may they 
also in the length stretching out of our reach. The more closely 
we examine any part of creation, the more do Cause and Effect 
rise up, and claim as their work what our glowing imagination had 
superficially attributed to the operation of Mind. Trace causes 
and effects then, philosopher ; examine minutely each part of 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 



429 



what you see, and say if the phantasm of a Causing Mind will not 
be gradually pushed out of the universe. 

Yes, by resting in a minute examination of parts only, and over- 
looking the result of each whole. Thus might mind be excluded 
from man and his works. What work of art is there, in which 
the aim and intent, i. e. the mind, of the artist may not be missed, 
if we confine our attention to groping amongst the details ? The 
examination of these may let us into the secret of the means which 
he has employed to bring about his purpose ; but to seize this 
purpose, and read his meaning, we must look at the whole working 
and effect. Is it a sufficient explanation of the steam-engine to 
give, in correct detail, the connection and dependence of each of 
its parts ; to show how the working of one part must necessarily 
follow the action of the preceding ; to state that the water must 
be raised from the well, because the upward motion of the bucket 
is the necessary sequence of the motion of the wheel, as this is 
caused inevitably by the motion of the beam, which follows of ne- 
cessity the stroke of the piston, which could not but result from 
the pressure of the steam, which must proceed from the action of 
heat upon the water in the boiler? And here might an indefinite 
further chain of mechanical causes be supposed ; but this tracing 
of the chain of sequences leaves all the while unexplained the 
cause of the whole work. Each successive link suggests more 
forcibly the idea of something more, which arranged the train of 
material causes and effects, so as to end in an apparently contem- 
plated result. 

But the mind of man, to which our pipes and boiler lead us, is 
itself a continuation of the mechanism, although of more subtle 
construction and properties ! Grant this ; the mind is mechanism, 
inasmuch as it is moved by springs, of a peculiar make, — reason, 
desires, and affections. Let us but trace nature back to this kind 
of mental mechanism, and it is enough ; man has found a cause re- 
sembling himself. Call mind mechanism ; define it as subject to 
its own fixed laws, or otherwise ; it is sufficient to trace nature 
back to Mind. 

The explanation of the sequence of action in the successive 
parts would seem an absurdity, if offered as the sufficient cause of 
any piece of human art. Why, then, should it satisfy us any more 
in the works of nature ? The chains of cause and effect in these 
are longer, and reach back farther, than we can follow ; in few of 
them, if any, can we arrive at the link where the causing mind 



430 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

itself operated upon matter.* Nevertheless, here matter seems no 
more gifted with the power of arranging itself, than in brass wheels 
and iron bars ; nor of contemplating, any more than they, the 
beautiful and useful result in which this long chain of adaptation 
ends. Do the sun, the rain, the soil, the roots, and the sap-vessels, 
take counsel together to form the flower ? If they do not, some- 
thing else must ; or the flower appears before us as a fortunate 
accident. What a vast assemblage of fortunate accidents make up 
the universe ! For here, millions of chains of causes and effects 
end in results beneficial to sentient beings ; and all these separate 
results harmonize together in a beautiful whole. f 

The more science advances, the more does it appear that all 
parts of nature are connected. Not only is the air about us adapted 
to the organs of plants and animals ; but the light from the farthest 
star finds itself at home on the retina of man. And the influence 
of bodies in remotest space is reverberated through the firmament 
as far as our system by means of attraction. Probably, no part of 
the universe could be annihilated without detriment to the rest. 
On the supposition of separate independent chains of causes and 
effects, uncaused by mind, the Universal Harmony is a startling 
conclusion. We should not be prepared to expect this. Some 
few of the results might have formed harmonious combinations ; 
but, in general, we should have expected to find the universe a 
miscellaneous assemblage of effects, having no apparent harmony, 
adaptation, or subserviency, — a heap of confused incongruous pro- 



* The introduction of new species into the universe, not explicable by a 
transmutation of preceding ones, as in the case of the recent origin of man, 
seems an instance of this kind. And the same might be said, perhaps, of 
the introduction of the first sentient creature upon this planet. 

f After making the largest allowance for the results apparently evil or 
useless, such as pestilential vapours, burning deserts, noxious insects and 
reptiles, and the like, there remains a large majority of beneficial produc- 
tions in nature. The catalogue of apparent exceptions is continually de- 
creasing as science advances, and contributes its items to the opposite list. 
For instance, insects and reptiles have enjoyed their own lives, and con- 
tributed to maintain the earth in the state fit for animal life. When man 
comes into contact with them, the noxious qualities of some species indicate 
that man and they are not intended to dwell together ; and the very courses 
which are for his interest in other respects, cleanliness, improvement of soils r 
and draining of marshes, tend to extirpate them. The large majority of 
acknowledged instances of good, and the probability that the remaining 
ones of apparent evil will come, in time, to be classed with them, allow of 
the general unqualified assertion, that the arrangements of nature end in 
beneficial results. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 431 

ductions, which no art could piece together into a serviceable whole. 
The harmonious combination of the results of the chains is, indeed, 
a striking feature, which forces itself on the attention, and demands 
imperatively some solution. It could not be an accident ; for the 
chains are numerous, and the harmony complete ; there must have 
been something influencing them all ; some bond of union which 
has given a common character and tendency to all the chains, and 
established a relationship between the most distant and dissimilar 
parts of nature. What is this Something, which has tied all na- 
ture together in a mysterious and beautiful connection ? What 
answer can satisfy us as to this deep-working and all-pervading 
somewhat ? — Cause and effect? — an inherent property of Order in 
matter ? — a Law of nature ? None of these ; but a causing Mind. 
The harmony of the creation, the adaptation of innumerable 
parts into a whole which our minds recognize as skilfully arranged, 
beautiful, and useful, impresses us irresistibly with the agency of 
mind. And this impression cannot be weakened by finding that 
the forming Mind has operated through a greater or less train of 
secondary causes. Grant that the planet has resulted from a frag- 
ment thrown off from the sun, and that the sun itself has resulted 
from the condensation of a whirling nebulous mass, and that this 
nebula proceeded from something else unknown, but all according 
to the fixed laws of matter ; still the Solar System, which is now 
before us, is not less admirable, nor less obviously suitable to the 
wants of plants and animals, for appearing thus as the result of a 
long train of secondary causes, than if it had sprung forth at once 
in maturity from the Creator's fiat. Trace back also the vegetable 
and animal forms which cover the earth, through a long series of 
developments, to the period when its surface seemed only to pre- 
sent a rude collection of unmoulded materials ; the riches of the 
Seasons, which we now experience, are not the less ravishing to 
men's minds and senses. Nature presents us with a magnificent 
and harmonious pattern. Who will say, that it is less obviously 
the result of a skilful mind, because the threads which compose it 
appear to have proceeded from the original design, through much 
machinery of cause and effect ? The pattern makes its own decla- 
ration of a designing mind, whatever be the means by which it was 
woven ; whether, at once, from the fingers of the artist, or through 
a long series of intermediate machinery. Secondary causes exhibit 
the machinery which God has made use of ; the laws of nature 
show his system of working with matter ; they are the loom of his 



432 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

own construction, through which he throws off from eternity a 
succession of splendid works.* 

Matter, in the same circumstances, appears always to act, or to 
be acted upon, in the same manner ; and these fixed rules of action 
or passion we call laws of nature. It is true that, supposing the 
different materials which compose the Creation to have been in 
existence, and these laws to have been in force, we can imagine 
that the present scene of things might have resulted, of necessity, 
from the progressive action and re-action of the materials. Place 
on the stage of infinite space, heat with its expansive power, water 
with its pressure in proportion to depth, the array of chemical 
elements with their respective degrees of affinity, and all matter 
with attraction in inverse proportion to the square of the distance, — 
and we can imagine that these actors must necessarily have played 
together a drama, of which the different acts appear successively 
throughout eternity in the varying phases of the universe. But 
what kind of a scene results from the actions of all these various 
performers ? One of confusion, an assemblage of incoherent re- 
sults, independent of each other, or warring with and destroying 
each other ? No ; but one in which our minds recognize, the more 
we study it, an harmonious and mutually supporting action. Then 
heat, water, and their brethren, have acted together with a con- 
cord which it would be impossible to inspire, in the same degree, 
into creatures even gifted with reason. Had they all some glim- 
mering perception of the orderly and the beautiful, which made 
each one of the company fall readily into that mode of action, 
which, in combination with the rest, should tend best to such a 
result ? The harmonious action of the drama proves it to be a 
regular and well-planned piece, and not a wild unconcerted panto- 
mime ; if, then, we find nothing in the actors themselves indicating 
that they had powers sufficient to contrive it, we must conclude 



In Being's floods, in Action's storm, 

I walk and work, above, beneath, 

Work and weave in endless motion t 

Birth and Death, 

An infinite Ocean ; 

A seizing and giving 

The fire of the Living : 

'Tis thus at the roaring loom of Time I ply, 

And weave for God the Garment thou see'st Him by. 

Song of the Earth- Spirit, in Faust* 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 



433 



that the piece had an author of greater powers than they, who does 
not, himself, appear on the scenes, but under whose direction each 
of these subordinate agents is playing the part which he has 
written for it. And the Great Unseen, who has written the drama 
of the Universe, to be played by the different forms of matter, in 
the parts called laws of nature, for the instruction of all ranks of 
intelligence, — is Mind. 

But suppose, that what appear to us different laws of nature are 
only modifications of one and the same principle ; and that the 
researches of science will tend continually to simplify all into the 
action of One great law of nature, seen by us under various aspects. 
This one law then was such, that, being applied to matter, it had 
the power of producing an harmonious and progressive creation, 
"What could be this law, having, in itself, the germ of endless 
variety, order, and beauty 1 How fortunate that matter happened 
to be subject to this, rather than some other, which should have 
produced quite different effects ! A law, principle, or somewhat, 
which is capable of producing in such abundance things which 
appear so much like the results of skill and intelligence ! It rises 
itself into a Deity ; but then the words law or principle imply 
incogitation, and mere mode of action or being in something else. 
If we will not change the ideas which the sight of creation urges 
us to apply to this somewhat, we must change the words. Law or 
Principle is insufficient. And why embarrass ourselves in invent- 
ing new names and definitions for this hidden but powerful some- 
what, which has caused creation, when we are so fortunate as to- 
have close to us many specimens of something known to produce, 
on a smaller scale, similar effects ? And that is Mind, creating 
Mind. 

Imagine ourselves excluded for a moment from the view of 
surrounding creation ; what would be our reflections on considering 
the existence of mind in ourselves ? — that the human mind was 
probably tbe only instance of this kind of existence ! Impossible.. 
Man feels his own mind to be but a small portion of a power 
which awakens matter into the highest kind of life : he delights 
to feel this power in himself, and to exercise it ; but the attempt 
convinces him that he has it in only a small degree. The domi • 
nion over matter, which he finds his mental faculties bestow, gives 
him the desire to enlarge these faculties. Since, with his petty 
actual endowment, he is able to mould a few materials within his 
immediate reach, what dominion might he not attain, if he could 
indefinitely enlarge this power ? And may there not be beings 



434 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

gifted with a higher degree of that which he feels himself to pos- 
sess on so limited a scale ? Can man be the moral and intellectual 
unique in creation ? How surprising, that, in a world so redundant 
with matter, this higher creation, mind, should be so scarce, that 
the narrow little portion of it found in man should be the highest 
degree of its existing ! But issue forth into the open view of 
nature ; look from the earth to the firmament, at the stupendous 
mechanism of Nature, and hear her confirm thy hesitating thoughts. 
See here the infinite of that which in thee is finite : — mind is not 
in thee alone ; above, below, and around, see the effects of it when 
free, unbounded, immense: here it is in its most extended opera- 
tion, in universal sway over matter. Eightly didst thou conjecture 
that thy small portion was not the only nor the highest degree of 
mind : as thy body is less than a point, when compared to the 
whole material creation, so, in proportion, is thy mind to the Spirit 
of the universe. 

Whence came the human mind ? — Not out of granite, nor ferns, 
nor ichthyosauri. History and observation, and even imagination, 
utterly fail to evolve man out of the polypus, whether through the 
dog, the elephant, or the ape.* Yet man and his mind do exist, 
and no effect is without a cause. Had Adam ancestors without a 
beginning? Geology answers, No. Was there ever a time, hidden 
in bygone ages, when the human mind began to be ? Then some- 
thing caused it, and this cause must have contained something 
corresponding to the powers in the effect. For mind could not 
spring out of imperceptive matter; nor could imperceptive matter, 
of its own accord, ever begin to think. At whatever date we find 
the commencement of the human mind, some kind of mind must 
have existed before it; this in its turn, if not itself eternal, must 
have been preceded also by mind ; and thus must mind, in some 
form, have been eternal. Let thinking beings trace back their 
pedigree, and they will find it always run in the family of thought. 
The ancestral research confirms the discovery which just now thou 
hast made in nature; there, were the indications of a mind in some 
manner resembling and related to thine own. Stretch thy sight 
over the line of thy progenitors into past eternity, and there thou 
seest in dim remoteness a Father of Spirits. 

But, again, where and what is this causing Mind, which reason 
forces us to acknowledge, but which glides away when we seek to 



See Lyell's Geology, book iii. chap, i., ii. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 435 

personify it ? The angelic form riding on the whirlwind, — the 
Spirit moving on the face of the waters, — the invisible Potentate 
sitting amidst the stars, — are merely more refined creations of poor 
human fancy, endeavouring to bring the ideal before our senses. 
The Causing Mind will not be embodied, nor be known to us other- 
wise than as an abstraction. It communicates itself to us by its 
works ; but the works are not itself. Is it therefore less a reality I 
Consider if we have no other and familiar instance of an abstrac- 
tion which we count as a reality ; something which cannot be seen, 
heard, smelt, tasted, nor felt, but which we yet recognize as an 
indubitable existence ? Yes, the mind of man ; we know it only 
by seeing the movement of various parcels of matter, and receiving 
certain vibrations of the air. These movements and these vibra- 
tions are not the mind ; yet we are so well satisfied with the per- 
ception which from them we obtain of another's mind, that we 
regard it as a real existence, and address to it our thoughts, affec- 
tions, and sympathies. See the movements and vibrations per- 
vading all nature, and thence be equally satisfied of the existence 
of the Divine Mind. 

What if we were obliged to admit, Materialist, that the human 
mind is only a mode of action of certain parcels of matter called 
the brain ! The human mind is not a whit the less, on that 
account, a delightful reality, nor all the sensations called mental — 
thought, feeling, and imagination, springing within ourselves, or 
awakened by the approach of similar natures, — theless real. Grant, 
then, for a moment, that the Divine Mind is some principle indis- 
solubly connected with, and not manifesting itself apart from, 
matter. It is no less a reality, and, like our own, no less the object 
of thought and feeling, than if it were an immaterial essence sitting 
alone in an universe which contained no material atom. 

God is not seen, and therefore is not ! Grovelling logic, con- 
tradicted by every thought of man which rises but a few degrees 
above his mere sensual nature ! Have we not faculties wherewith 
to contemplate the unseen ; by which this becomes to us, in num- 
berless forms, a reality the highest and dearest ? Honour is not 
the note which discharges a debt, nor fame the applauding crowd, 
nor love the outstretched hand and welcoming smile. But out of 
the most refined visible manifestation arises something more refined 
and subtle still, the abstraction which our senses cannot grasp, but 
which the mind welcomes as the reality towards which it was un- 
consciously working its ascent from the things of mere sense. The 
five senses are but a small part of man ; mere channels to supply 



436 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 



the material out of which his incomprehensible mechanism elabo- 
rates abstractions to feed his higher nature. Hardly equal to the 
brutes, if he could merely see, hear, smell, taste, and touch, — he 
becomes a god when he is able to understand, admire, love, and 
venerate. Poor is the noblest material form, if it reach only to 
the senses ; but out of those material particles, in themselves so 
dull and vile, arises the ideal essence of the sublime, the love- 
worthy, or the beautiful, which touches the mind into higher life, 
and which is the only reality it cares to bear away. The human 
form itself, in highest perfection, soon ceases to interest, unless it 
give rise to those abstractions which form our most subtle delight; 
but where these are, we can love and admire, although the unseen 
form be to us the same as not existing. Who does not make to 
himself a reality, and an object of affections, of the unseen agent 
of generous and benevolent deeds, even though the few cubic feet 
of substance which compose his form, and any visible manifestation 
connected with them, should never reach him ? So accustomed are 
we to treat abstractions as realities, that it seldom occurs to us 
that the existence of the historical personage is the more doubtful, 
because the historian has not supplied us with the means of de- 
fining his visible form. To which of the two is Caesar more a 
reality ; to the Eoman slave who saw a human form, resembling 
many others, in the triumphal car and toga ; or to the reader of 
to-day, who has followed the accomplished, vain, and ambitious 
conqueror from the plains of Gaul to the foot of Pompey's statue ? 
Nor need we appeal so far as to history. Are not those unseen 
ones, whose thoughts alone, reaching to us, stir up in us a high 
and intense life ; — are they not to us realities a thousand times 
more interesting than the mere visible forms, the acquaintances of 
eye and ear, which cross our every-day path ? 

What, though our minds be not always tuned to this high pitch, 
and often sink down from abstractions to the basis of things mate- 
rial and sensible out of which they arise, — they cannot remain 
there long, but feel gradually borne up by their nature into higher 
action. Not alone does the poet or the philosopher seek for the 
ideal as a part of his mind's needful aliment. The peasant and 
the artisan also seek more than the things which they see and 
handle ; and catch gladly at those words and sounds which give 
them the glimmering of another kind of life, the life of the fantasy. 
Hence has superstition been able to maintain her sway so stoutly 
in defiance of common sense, by allying herself with powers to 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 437 

which man by nature owned a grateful and willing allegiance. The 
religious fable or absurdity has been suffered to pass unquestioned, 
for the sake of the grace, faith, or spiritual influence by which it 
has invited men to the action of their higher faculties. And 
possibly this action, even when somewhat diseased and in excess, 
was less injurious than the total death of man's ideal and spiritual 
nature. But cannot reason also form an alliance with this ; or 
must we acknowledge that in proportion to the dominion of reason, 
man must restrict himself to the exercise of his senses, and admit 
as fact and reality their acquaintances alone ? This cannot be ; 
Nature bids us refuse to lower our standard to the capabilities of 
those whom she intended to be mere door-keepers to the mind, 
and urges us to receive all that higher world of ideas which follow 
the impressions of sense, welcoming them as the congenial com- 
panions and best friends of reason. 

Are abstractions, then, delightful realities of the mind in its 
highest exercise ? Then God speaks to us by means of our highest 
faculties ; and wbo would wish that he had spoken otherwise ? 
The being who has senses alone goes into nature, and finds only 
herbs, waters, sky, and plants. The being who has also intellect, 
imagination, and affections, cannot see these without finding also 
the Mind of the Universe. 

Doubly pleasing does nature become when reason has once 
satisfied us that she is authorized to respond to the heart. The 
mind of the First Cause speaks to us through his works. Matter, 
inorganic and organic ! How poor and mean nature seemed when 
this was all we could see in her ! but now we begin to penetrate 
farther, and find that these forms were but the outward expression 
of something higher than themselves. The loneliness felt amidst 
heaps of insentiency, however splendidly arrayed, disappears as 
soon as we begin to distinguish the voice of Intelligence which 
speaks through them. Mind caused them, exists amidst them, and 
speaks by them. Each object becomes more than a spectacle ; it 
is the medium of communication from a mind. The wild flower 
which we scarcely notice, the satellite which we disregard amidst 
the brilliancy of the sky, would tell us volumes, if they were all 
in the external world to which we had access. But from the 
stores of the Parent Cause these would be but penurious epistles ; 
and he conveys his meaning in a richly variegated earth, and a 
boundless firmament. 

With this Scripture w r e may be well content ; and knowing that 



438 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

here it is appointed for us to learn all we can and ought to 
know of God, his nature, and his will, cease to regret the loss of 
that strange existence which made a capricious covenant with 
Abraham, or of the voice which delivered to Moses moral precepts, 
intermingled with directions concerning the fringe of the tabernacle 
and knobs of the candlestick, or of the Being who declared himself 
at one time long-suffering and gracious, and at another denounced 
heavy punishments for sparing the wives and children of the van- 
quished. A more refined conception followed these, in so far as 
man's expanding mind began to catch the tone and spirit of 
nature. But nature is more durable than man's words, whether 
conveyed through other men's memories, or by paper and parchment. 
We can appeal to her direct, without help from any translator or 
expounder, besides our own head and heart. The God whom she 
proclaims is a certainty in a far higher degree than any God re- 
vealed to us through distant records, for the pledges of his exist- 
ence are the things around us and within us every moment, free 
from all suspicion of forgery, delusion, or imposture. 

And what does this elder, but ever fresh, Scripture teach con- 
cerning the character of the Creating Mind? Is there aught in 
it, besides intelligence, which betokens kindred to our own ? How 
does the intelligence employ itself, and towards what objects does 
it tend ? That of man is combined with other faculties and tastes, 
and exercises itself in the directions to which these point. He 
loves to explore the properties of figures and number, and to make 
these properties subservient to his purposes in combining material 
things ; he delights in sweet sounds and graceful forms, and deems 
it no small part of reason's task to promote the gratification of the 
eye and the ear ; and above all, his intelligence finds a necessity 
of being in action of some kind amongst the material things which 
surround it. Does the Divine Intelligence resemble the human in 
any of these respects? or does it operate towards objects altogether 
incomprehensible to man, foreign to his tastes, bearing no parallel 
to his aims, and no relation to his faculties ? A range through 
nature soon leads to the pleasing discovery, that the Creative In- 
telligence is combined also with something corresponding to the 
senses, tastes, and imagination of man. He finds not a strange 
and repulsive creation which jars harshly upon his own nature, but 
one which accords wonderfully with it. To whatever side he turns, 
nature presents something to harmonize with his faculties, and he 
feels himself in a father-land. Earth and skies reveal a conceptive 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 439 

Painter, a skilful Musician, a deep Geometrician, a sure Architect, 
and, whether in these or other forms, an ever-active mind.* 

In some things mankind cannot approach the perfection displayed 
in nature. The problem of the three bodies occupied the ablest 
mathematicians of Europe for many years, and Clairaut was only 
able to solve it approximately. Yet how much more complicated 
must be the problems to be solved in order to balance millions of 
systems !f With respect to sounds and colours also, the artificial 
seldom equal the natural in sweetness or A 7 ividness. But in some 
cases, as in the collocation of the parts of a landscape, or in the 
combination of sounds into a concert, art seems able to improve 
upon nature. Remembering that man himself is a part of the lat- 
ter, we should hence conclude, that, in some cases, God exhibits a 
higher degree of skill out of us, and in other cases through us. 

Whether it be true or not, that in some particular cases man is 
able to do better than what he finds already done in nature, the 
general fact, that the material creation is such as to delight his 
faculties, remains indisputable ; and, looking at the whole, few 
would admit that any human mind could ever produce such a mag- 
nificient and beautiful conception. There is a boldness or freedom 
of style in the Divine works which strikes the imagination, inde- 
pendently of size and extent. God is not a formalist who draws 



* Man appears to have certain determinate faculties, which may be 
modified by the action of external things, but can neither be entirely 
created nor destroyed by it. Therefore the pleasure which he takes in 
nature indicates an agreement or harmony between his appetencies and 
external things, and not the necessary derivation of the former from the 
latter. Persons who have been excluded from their birth from natural 
scenery, experience a lively pleasure when at last introduced to it. It is 
quite conceivable that man and external nature should have been consti- 
tuted so that the latter might produce an unpleasing effect upon the whole 
or the greater part of the faculties of the former ; therefore the agreement 
or harmony alluded to, unless we call it a coincidence, demands some 
explanation. 

f The hypothesis, that the matter scattered throughout the heavens must, 
during eternity, have time to fall into all possible combinations, and there- 
fore must at last hit upon one of the few which would balance the universe, 
although not absolutely impossible, is too violent to be admitted, without 
strong support from facts. No record, either through intelligent beings or 
material things, has reached us of that enormous period when Nature was 
making her unsuccessful experiments. The earliest geological epochs appear 
to be parts of a regular plan of progression. The hypothesis referred to is 
totally unsupported by that which forms the basis of the argument for an 
Intelligent Cause, viz. fact and analogy. 



440 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

only in parallel lines, perfect curves, and similar figures. This he 
•can do where it conduces to utility, as in the cellular tissues, the 
spider's web, the cells of bees, and in the members of the body 
which exist in pairs. He can be most minute in regularity, for 
the earth never varies a minute in the time of its rotation, nor does 
the radius vector of any planet describe an inch more or less of 
area in equal times. Yet, where no purpose of utility appears to 
be promoted by regularity, he prefers the variety of seeming 
chance. The stars are scattered thoughout the firmament, so that 
no area in space can be matched with its duplicate ; yet who does 
not confess that the confusion which allows the imagination to form 
the wild group of Orion, the Centaur, the Lion, and' all their fellow 
mystic forms, emblems of scientific facts, or representations of the 
fables which sprung from the fancy of the young human race, — 
that this wild collocation exceeds in sublime effect the most regular 
corniced temple-ceiling into which the Divine Artificer might have 
marked out the sky ? And who that sees from some eminence the 
beautiful confusion of rocks, sea, meadows and woods, assembled 
in no definable proportion or plan, would wish that the Designer 
had preferred to arrange the components of his landscapes with 
the regularity of tesselated pavements? 

But this is mere trifling, compared with the deeper query which 
the heart longs to put to nature. Is the universal mind Ormusd' 
or Ahriman ? For, with all that she has yet said, he might still be 
an all-powerful refined tormentor. The wise and skilful we may ad- 
mire ; but the benevolent we confide in and love. There has been, 
and is, much that seems evil; when she is clearly understood, 
what will be the final translation of her sentence — that good, evil, 
a compromise, or a neutrality, is the rule of the universe ? If the 
Persian had been tolcl so much of the future, as that the progress 
of knowledge would prove it impossible for two principles to 
reign jointly in the universe, since each successive investigation 
of nature showed more and more the unity of design, from the 
lowest gulf of the Caspian to the star which hardly twinkles 
beside Aldebaran, how would he desire to ask the further question, 
which of the two principles would advancing knowledge recognize 
as the predominant, and whether Ormusd or Ahriman would be 
dissipated by science into a non-entity ! He might, perhaps, have 
anticipated the answer, but with some trembling. Three thousand 
years enable us to anticipate the final decision of nature with tran- 
quility. The study of matter and mind has proved, that so much 
of what was called evil is the necessary means of preventing the 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 441 

destruction of our physical frame, or of promoting the life of 
our moral nature, that we look securely for the further results of 
science as to what remains of evil unexplained.* Since the more 
intently men have looked at nature, the more of evil has appeared 
to change into goodness of a different hue, we must anticipate that 
a perfect revelation will show the seeming blots which remain, to 
be in reality harmonizing features in a scene of beneficence. Thus 
relieved with respect to these darker passages of nature, we are 
at liberty to rejoice in her general clear and easy language of 
joyous suns, smiling earth, bodies replete with agreeable sensa- 
tions, and sights and tones innumerable which breathe peace or 
delight. Thus- in abundant eloquence she declares that neither 
malevolence nor indifference has presided over the creation of all 
things, but that benevolence was, in some unaccountable way, the 
predominant attribute of the Causing Mind. 

Might it not have been otherwise ? Is there any latent self- 
contradiction in the supposition that the order of things might 
have been such as to give as much pain, or as little pleasure, as 
. was consistent with continuation ? — that life and reproduction 
should have been enforced by pain, rather than persuaded by plea- 
sure ; and that a miserable world, or a dull world, should have 
been compelled to drag on for millions of ages, in order to supply 
a necessary link of the great whole ? It is conceivable : why was 
it not so ? We cannot tell ; but we can rejoice in the actual 
reality. A common-place phrase is it, — the beneficent order of 
things. But to Adam, just created, it would have been a thrilling 
discovery. Pause sometimes, all sons of Adam, and rejoice to 
think upon the good luck, or fortunate necessity, or whatever other 
name seems best to suit the incomprehensible fate which made 
goodness predominant in the universe which holds you. 

The creating Intelligence, which all nature had revealed, is also 
beneficent. Delightful discovery ! Then can man repose securely 
and trust implicitly. For the rest, his weak understanding need 
not perplex itself more than for diversion and exercise. When, 
strong and active, his mind is restless for employment, let it seek 
farther into the nature of God and the destiny of man ; but when, 
weary and troubled, it needs repose, let it sink contented upon 
faith — the clear and easy faith which a beautiful universe has re- 
vealed, a benevolent God. What is there further which will not 



Combe"s Constitution of Man. 
DO 



442 CHRISTIAN THEISM*. 

readily grow out of this ? From this one article, reason will easily 
deduce as many as the varying circumstances of each individual 
may require, and more than thirty-nine of good comfort will be 
found, confirmed by nature to be of sound orthodoxy. 

Benevolence is one of the characteristics which most please us 
in the human mind. By examining the works of nature, it ap- 
pears to have been a principle inherent in the First Cause. May 
we not, then, hope that some of the other sentiments of the human 
mind have in the First Cause something responding to them ? 
Whether the sentiment be a primitive faculty of the mind, or 
whether it grows out of its constitution acted upon by other things, 
it must have had in the original Source of mind a cause answering 
to it. If mind could have proceeded from nothing but mind, then 
the qualities of mind must have proceeded from a cause having 
some kindred or resembling qualities. Benevolence could not have 
been made a component of human nature by a cause essentially 
malevolent. Then also justice, sense of duty, honour, affection, 
have something responding to them in the cause of man's mind.* 

Thus do our mental powers, ranging through nature, discover an 
existence which rises in sublimity and interest the more they look 
upon it. By steady contemplation the wondrous abstraction as- 
sumes form. The great idea is filled up ; whilst the reality of 
external nature perpetually reminds us that we behold, not our 
own reflection, but an independent existence. "j" One by one, 
qualities throng upon it, until it becomes an entity readily appre- 
ciable by thought. It becomes a personality so real, that imagi- 
nation is almost tempted to add more. The Creative Intelligence, 
the , mighty Geometrician, and conceptive Artist, is also Benevo- 
lent ; and if so much as all this, he can surely understand and 
appreciate whatever else enters into the composition of humanity. 

* It might be objected, that this kind of argument would also prove that 
there are counterparts of man's bad qualities in the Divine Mind. But 
modern philosophy tends to prove, that the mind has no original bad quali- 
ties. Vices are the results of qualities in themselves good, and in harmony 
■with nature, but misdirected, or in excess, owing to defective knowledge. 
It seems, indeed, not at all improbable, that all primitive faculties in the 
human mind have some counterpart in the First Cause, although the mani- 
festation of them should be different, owing to its different mode of exist- 
ence. 

f Dante relates, in the Paradise, that the Deity appeared to him under 
the figure of three circles, forming an iris, whose lively colours generated 
each other ; but that, looking steadily upon the dazzling light, he saw only 
his own figure. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 443 

Then may virtue, endeavouring to imitate him, hope that there is 
in the universe a secret response of approbation, more sure and 
discerning than that of men ; then may humble unseen worth, 
persevering from a sense of duty in painful struggles, which the 
ordination of progress has rendered inevitable to many children 
of earth, retire frequently to seek refreshment from sympathies in 
nature, compassion, exhortation, and encouragement, expressed in 
tones which the ear is now attuned to perceive ; and if sometimes, 
stimulated into more keen perception by sorrow, the soul realizes 
the awful consoling Presence so nearly, that it more than medi- 
tates, — can reason condemn? 

Honoured be the spirits which have anticipated such religion of 
nature, and depicted the Cause of the universe in this attractive 
form. The lower feelings found in the godhead a mere Jupiter 
Tonans, a vindictive and jealous tyrant of heaven, the partial pro- 
tector of a family or chosen nation. But more enlarged thought 
and higher feeling described him as the King and Father of men, 
Jupiter greatest and best. Especially honoured be he who loved 
to contemplate, and to address, the unseen Mind as the Father in 
heaven, hearing and having compassion on all men ; and who 
taught men to avail themselves of this refuge for sorrow. What- 
ever else he were, he was one of those who have helped to raise 
and refine, as well as to strengthen, human nature. Philosophy 
sitting calmly in the schools, or walking at ease in the groves, 
could not do all that men require ; the despised Galilean, with his 
religion of sorrow, gave strength where philosophy left them 
weak, and completed the armour of the mind. It was reserved for 
a persecuted man of a persecuted nation to open the divine depths of 
sorrow, and to direct men towards the hidden riches of their nature 
in abysses where, at the first entrance, all appeared barren gloom. 

The various systems of religion, or schools of philosophy, which 
have pre-eminently attracted men's attention, have all contributed 
something to a complete moral creed. Each has brought into 
view some great principle which, although not unknown, had never 
before been placed in so striking a light. Jesus Christ has added 
to philosophy the principle of regarding the Supreme Mind as an 
object of the affections. In suffering and adversity chiefly, this 
principle comes to be felt as a valuable part of philosophy. In 
these conditions, it may be questioned if any system, without this, 
can produce perfect tranquility, free from apathy. Acquiescence 
in the decrees of fate or necessity is not enough for a being com- 
pounded of imaginations and affections, as well as intellect ; the 



444 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 






principle suits his whole nature, when raised into submission to 
the will of a beneficent paternal mind. In this, Jesus wants not 
the attestation of supernatural voices and signs ; he has held up 
to men a doctrine which nature, when earnestly appealed to, fully 
sanctions. 

Does the adorer still sometimes sigh for a contemplation of the 
Deity, requiring less strain upon his intellectual nature, and ex- 
claim, that the Invisible would become flesh, and dwell among 
us, so that we might see his form and hear his voice, full of grace 
and truth ! or that, at least, he would condescend so far to the 
weakness of beings in whom sense forms a large part, as to send 
amongst them some emanating intelligence, his likeness and repre- 
sentative, in a human form ! Eeflect, thou art asking only what 
he has already done. Man's mind came out of the all-compre- 
hending cause. Some examples of it exhibit, in no low degree, 
the attributes which are revealed in creation. In the good and 
the wise of earth, behold many Incarnations of deity. Be thy- 
self one of them. Wherever thou findest the pure, the energetic, 
and the love-worthy, fall down in thy own mind and adore the 
god-like. In this accessible form thou wilt frequently find the 
godhead walking in the garden, joining at the social board, talking 
with thee face to face. Avail thyself freely of this familiar channel 
of recognition and adoration ; by love and reverence for the moral, 
pay to the Source of Good an easy daily praise ; nor fear, by wor- 
ship of the God on earth, to disparage the God in heaven. 

The history of six thousand years exhibits continual stretchings 
of man after the invisible ; and according to the state of mind and 
manners, these have manifested themselves in superstition, fana- 
ticism, religion, or philosophy. Away with the cant that the idea 
of a God is only the work of priestcraft ; the priests might have 
availed themselves of what was already in the mind of man, but 
no priests could have artifice enough to plant there, and cause to 
grow for ages, what was totally uncongenial to it. Men would 
have risen sooner against each priestly annoyance, but that they 
felt the power of unseen realities speaking to them in a voice more 
forcible than that of bulls and ordinances, — the voice of their 
reason, and of their inmost wants, hopes, and affections. And it has 
been the art of priests to appear as the allies and visible repre- 
sentatives of these potent influences, and to pretend to minister to 
those wants of men, which by slow degrees they learn to satisfy 
direct from nature's fountain. Yet do the strange shapes which 
the religious sentiment has so frequently assumed, all contain a 
truth which compels lamentation or laughter to end in some kind 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 445 

of reverence. He may be wanting in perceptions, who can refrain 
from a smile at some of the abrupt passages which the mixture 
called human nature has often made in religion as well as other 
things, from the sublime to the ridiculous ; and especially at the 
impotent conclusion, of the highest aspirations of men being re- 
duced to the poor common-place of subserving the necessity which 
some appear to be under of imposing, and others of being imposed 
upon. But he is equally or more wanting in perceptions, who can 
see only these in the history of religion, nor discern, amidst various 
absurd disguises invented by human folly, an identical fair form of 
truth, of which the reality and character are spoken to by the con- 
stitution of man's mind and of nature. The conceptions of Deity 
in rude ages must necessarily be lower than in periods of mental 
refinement; yet, in many of them, we may find the alloy to consist 
of sentiments which, though not the highest, are neither unworthy 
nor unnatural. The most philosophic religionist may feel at times 
the necessity of bringing the Universal Mind, as it were, into that 
comparatively narrow circle wherein the most active feeliugs gene- 
rally find their play, and contemplating it in reference to family, 
friends, or country. By him the appellations the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, the God who hath led our fathers through the 
wilderness, will be regarded as happy modes of bringing the 
Mighty Incorporeal within the compass of a rude nation's affec- 
tions and comprehension. Nor will he refuse to lend himself to 
the associations which the history of Israel, their poetry and music, 
and also that of Christendom, have connected with the name of the 
God of Judah, and King of Zion. In all the forms not abso- 
lutely revolting or ludicrous, in which the domestic or patriotic 
feelings of tribes and nations have allied themselves with the re- 
ligious, will the benignant philosopher find matter for sympathy 
and approval, rather than of derision ; he will enter into the asso- 
ciations of time and place which have rendered such forms interest- 
ing and powerful, relax his abstract truths into these poetical and 
familiar representations, and regard the propensity to fall into 
them as an amiable, rather than absurd, trait in imperfect human 
nature. 

But, although poetical, historical, and antiquarian interest may 
preserve, in different nations, partial representations of the Deity 
for a long time after the belief in the Divine sanction of such 
representations has ceased, — the tendency of advancing knowledge 
must be gradually to abandon these imperfect conceptions, and to 
prefer that infinitely more enlarged one which progressive thought 
opens. As the name of Israel is to us now, so will Christendom 



446 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

and Christianity be to our descendants of future generations. As 
to us the God of Abraham, and the God of Israel, appear too 
limited designations for the Divine Existence, so to them will 
appear the names of the Father of Christ, and the God of the 
Christians. All representations of the Deity depending upon the 
preservation of human records will be felt to be comparatively 
unsatisfactory and unsubstantial. But Nature will always be a 
present grand reality, and the Intelligence which presides through- 
out nature must be an ever-present reality also. The God of 
Nature, revealed in greater clearness by each step of physical and 
mental science, is He whom the Jew, the Christian, the Maho- 
metan, and the Hindoo, will at last unite to worship. In the 
plenitude of philosophic charity, which future centuries are to 
develope, these may all, in turn, join each other in the peculiar 
ancient worship of each. Where painting, poetry, or music, may 
have consecrated the old, imperfect, and partial conceptions of 
each nation, the enlightened religionist of after-times will find no 
impediment to his free sympathy in the reminiscences of his neigh- 
bours. The Hindoo scholar may repeat with pleasure the praises 
of the God of Israel, preserved in the relics of Hebrew poetry ; 
the Mahometan musician will not be offended at finding the Deity 
continually represented as the Father of Jesus Christ in the finest 
devotional compositions of Christendom ; whilst the Jewish or 
Christian poet will treat with equal candour the strains in honour 
of Brama. The secondary feelings connected with the religious 
peculiarities of each clime will be treated, on all sides, with that 
respectful consideration which true philosophy inspires ; whilst all 
will rejoice together in their respective emancipations from the 
more galling fetters of their supposed Special Bevelations, and 
meet in full and free communion of thought on the common ground 
of Nature's Revelation. Religion will at last, like Science, become 
a point of union, instead of a bar of separation, to the minds of 
different nations. When it is found that the real Bible, or book 
in which God reveals himself, has been given equally to all, and 
that he has already taken care to place it in clear print before 
every nation, there can be no room for the overweening assumption 
of exclusive possession of divine truth ; and that generous zeal 
for others' spiritual welfare, which, in a great measure, wastes 
itself in misdirected missionary exertions, will find an aim more 
rational and more practicable, in international efforts to promote 
moral, intellectual, and social improvement. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 447 

The distinction between God's works, and God's word, no longer 
exists. They are the same. His works are his word. No longer 
need the mind which seeks its Creator be cramped within the 
limits of a written volume. thou, whose earliest conceptions of 
a creative intelligence awakened by the sight of a wonderful world, 
and, seeking for further expansion, have been directed to the so- 
called word of God as the proper fountain of this high knowledge, 
where this sublimest ardour was to be satisfied, and the great idea 
fully developed, — hast thou never experienced something like dis- 
appointment, when, turning wearily over many pages of the boasted 
revelation, thou hast found but little to respond to thy nascent 
desires of truth, and timidly, half self-accusing, asked thyself, Can 
this really be that loudly-extolled book of Revelation, which is to 
instruct men fully concerning God and his ways ? Is it indeed so 
superior to the instruction of nature, that it deserves to be called 
pre-eminently the Word of God ? I find here and there high 
thoughts and beautiful conceptions, which show that between the 
Nile and the Euphrates, as well as elsewhere, men possessed a 
nature capable of being moved occasionally to the contemplation 
of the mighty Cause of heaven and earth ; but do these ancient 
writers really impart knowledge concerning him beyond the reach 
of all other sages, and speak in strains unequalled by any other 
muse ? * Alas ! they seldom sustain my mind long in that high 
region which it was seeking ; but drag it down into an earthly 
atmosphere of low trifling thoughts, petty local interests, and 
individual or national resentments. This, the book to which stu- 



* Compare Psalms xix. and Isaiah xl. with Young's Night Thoughts, 
chap. ix. : — 

" Where ends this mighty building ? "Where begin 
The suburbs of creation ? Where the wall 
Whose battlements look o'er into the vale 
Of non-existence ? Nothing's strange abode ! 
Say, at what point of space Jehovah dropp'd 
His slackened line, and laid his balance by ; 
Weighed worlds, and measured infinite, no more ! 
Where rears his terminating pillar high 
Its extra-mundane head ? and says to gods, 
In characters illustrious as the sun, 
' I stand, the plan's proud period ; I pronounce 
The work accomplished : the creation closed : 
Shout, all ye gods ! nor shout, ye gods, alone ; 
Of all that lives, or, if devoid of life, 
That rests, or rolls, ye heights and depths, resound !' " 



448 CHKISTIAN THEISM. 

pendous Nature itself was only the preface ! — which the Creator 
of sun and skies has thought it worth while to attest by special 
messages and inspirations ! Neither its genealogies, histories, nor 
poems, satisfy my want. The spirit of adoration seems to be, by 
long perusal of this volume, excluded from the great temple of the 
universe, and compressed into the holy ark of Israel, or into an 
upper chamber at Jerusalem. Can this book really be the highest 
field of human study and thought ? There must be some mistake. 

Kejoice, and set thy mind free ; there has been a great mistake. 
The book, as well as thyself, was injured by the false pretensions 
set up on its behalf ; and the workings of the Human mind in 
remote ages, in themselves deeply interesting, rendered ridiculous 
by being extolled into oracles of the Divine. Cease to weary thy- 
self in following Israel through the desert, and in pondering each 
supposed weighty sentence of prophets and apostles. Neither 
Moses nor Samuel, Isaiah nor Zechariah, not Jesus, nor Paul, nor 
John, can speak more of God than they themselves have learned 
from the sources which he has placed within the reach of all, 
nature and man's own mind. But look up and around, and say if 
man may not be well satisfied with these ; and if in Orion and the 
Pleiades, in the green earth, and its copious productions, and 
especially in the Godlike Human Mind itself, manifested in art, 
science, poetry, and action, God has not provided eloquent and 
intelligible evangelists. 

True, they tell me that he is ; but his Will ! where shall I find 
this, if the book of revelation be renounced ; where find rules of 
conduct of sufficient sanction to render the mind free and trustful 
in its course through life ? Eeflecting man cannot live a mere 
animal, catching whatever good fate or chance throws to him from 
day to day ; he must ask himself sometimes, what is the End of 
his being, and is he living for that End ? Different lines of con- 
duct seem to lie open before him ; which shall he choose, — virtue 
or vice, benevolent or selfish gratification ? The omnipotent 
Designer must have intended man to fulfil some part in his great 
plan : if man could penetrate into the divine designs, and learn 
what this plan was, or at least obtain a word of guidance from the 
Creator's lips, he might proceed surely. Conformity to the will 
of an arranger so wise as he who made the world, must be for the 
best interests of man and of all things. 

Nor will this question be asked of Nature in vain. Through her 
God speaks his will, as well as his existence, in language of inimi- 
table force and clearness. Here, also, it is the language of facts. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 449 

He speaks his commands to man in a manner so impressive, that 
they cannot be neglected, whether they be recognized as his or 
not. This emphatic language is Pleasure and Pain. By the 
former he persuades, by the latter he deters. " Do this" is spoken 
so that none can refuse ; " thus far shalt thou go," and " thou 
shalt not," are enforced in sentences which the deaf must hear, 
viz., in Nature's sharp penalties for disobedience. 

Here, then, is the true Table of God's commandments ; the 
natural consequences of actions; the happiness or misery which re- 
sult respectively from different lines of conduct, according to the 
constitution of ourselves and of things around : a table written, 
indeed, with the finger of God, but which no Moses can throw 
down and break ; for it is interwoven with the universe itself, and 
shares its stability. Let him who desires to know the will of God 
study well this great table, and in no particular will he find it 
deficient or ambiguous. 

It is true that this Table is so constructed as to teach by expe- 
rience rather than by warning. Each forbidden fruit does not 
prevent our tasting it by sharp pains to the palate ; but by after- 
pain it declares itself to be within the prohibited list. Man seems 
thus to be designedly exposed to some evil. Unlike an over-fond 
parent, who fears lest her charge should receive the slightest hurt, 
Nature gives mankind a rough education, and allows them unscru- 
pulously to receive many hurts before they attain their majority, 
Man's infancy of six thousand years has abounded with disasters ; 
yet Nature has looked on unmoved, tranquilly confident in the 
ultimate success of her plan ; in evidence of which we see she 
now points to her charge, upon the whole healthy and vigorous, 
notwithstanding his past troubles, rendered partially wise and re- 
flective in consecpience of them, and showing a strength of consti- 
tution in body and mind which allows the hope of a manhood of 
perfection. 

Is Nature really unkind in preferring this rigorous system of 
teaching by experience ? and do we wish that God had rather made 
her the minutely solicitous nurse, always warning in time, to pre- 
vent our incurring the least physical or moral hurt ? Then we 
might have been entirely unscathed by evil, and for ever safe in 
leading-strings. But whence should we obtain all those things 
which seem to be the necessary results of hard experience alone ; 
— patience, fortitude, circumspection, activity of thought, and the 
full appreciation of pleasure ? All these truly are worth some- 
thing, and help much to make man the being whom we love and 



450 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

respect. Perhaps they are equal in value to that secure invul- 
nerability which we might have had in the total absence of evil, — 
perhaps more. Should we dare to risk the loss of this moral 
grandeur, and all that results from it, by accepting, in exchange 
for this world, one in which evil had never been permitted to ap- 
pear, — a world already cleared of evil for man, instead of one 
which he is to clear for himself? The choice would be too hazard- 
ous ; we might lose more than we should gain : possibly it was 
neither oversight nor want of benevolence in the Creator, that he 
allowed the trees both of Good and of Evil to grow within the 
reach of unrestrained man. 

Wonderful and ingenious is the method devised for guiding man 
into the course which he was intended to fulfil, and at the same 
time allowing him that range of faculties and action, which con- 
tributes to the interest and greatness of his being ! Not an 
enchaining automaton-producing instinct ; but Pleasure or Hap- 
piness attached to some actions, Pain or Misery to others. How 
simple the contrivance ! yet what a vast machinery of sensations 
in man and adaptations to external nature did it require ! The 
Natural Consequences of actions become, then, the Scriptures of 
God's will concerning the conduct of man. Deeply interesting is 
the study of this volume, for we read it in every action of our lives, 
and in all that men and nations enjoy or suffer. Even he who will 
not himself attend to the meaning, becomes an illustration of it to 
others. But with the happiness and misery of life the sense must 
glide more or less into every mind. 

Why have mankind profited so little by this volume, that from 
generation to generation they continue to read again and again the 
same dark pages of immoderate indulgence, unrestrained passions, 
and their attendant evils, without going on to those abundant pages 
■of pleasurable experiences to which these difficult passages were 
to be merely the preparation ? Whence this strange inattention ? 
From men's inadvertence to the deep and solemn object of all the 
Pains and Pleasures to which their minds and bodies are subject ; 
viz., that these are to make known to them God's will, and guide 
them into the course designed for them. But they have supposed 
pains and pleasures to be accidents, or mere arbitrary distributions, 
and have looked everywhere else for the declaration of God's will ; 
in dreams, or visions, or special messengers from heaven, or super- 
natural inspirations, or volumes of human compilation pretending 
to contain the precious oracles. Man's attention has been so 
engrossed with these loud boasting, counterfeit revelations, that he 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 451 

has neglected Nature, although ever speaking with her own quiet 
impressiveness through his own feelings and the order of things. 

But now lift up thine eyes, free from those illusions which have 
been so long confusing the sight of mankind, and devote thy 
hitherto misdirected energies to discover God's will in his own 
revelation of it. Here also he adopts a magnificent mode of teach- 
ing, the feelings of man and the order of events. Thou wilt soon 
learn his style in this matter, as well as in the revelation of his 
existence. 'Tis easier, after all, than the study of Koran, Shas- 
ters, Zendavesta, or Bible. Thou wilt sooner discover the tendency 
of thine actions, and the pleasurableness or painfulness of thy own 
feelings, than the genuineness and meaning of Hebrew, Greek, or 
Persic texts. Hast thou ever felt delight in the exercise of thy 
senses, in the fragrance of the rose and violet, in autumn's fruits, 
in the freshness of the winding stream beneath over-hanging trees, 
or in the inviting depths of the wood ? God commands thee to 
enjoy all this. Hast thou ever felt the bodily prostration or mental 
death following upon too long-continued luxurious ease ? Then 
God prohibits this. Hast thou ever found enjoyment in the kindly 
intercourse with men, in the interchange of good offices, or in the 
mutual communication of thought and experience, gaiety and 
wisdom? God commands this. Hast thou ever felt misery from 
yielding to suspicion, reserve, distrust, and uncharitableness ? The 
prohibition is clear. Hast thou ever found delight in knowledge, 
in evolving the surprising properties of numbers and quantity, in 
exploring the history of earth and its productions, in penetrating 
the firmament and gaining a bird's-eye view of the universe, or in 
roving through the luxuriance of books ? All this God sanctions. 
Or hast thou sometimes had a sense of a purer delight, and felt 
the awakening of a new and higher life in the love of moral beauty, 
the admiration of noble actions, the feeling of disinterested benevo- 
lence, the desire to direct all other tastes and powers towards the 
service of mankind, and to imitate the perfection in heaven by 
doing good to all sentient creatures ? If ever thou hast been con- 
vinced that from such feelings proceed a real and substantial de- 
light, then be sure that God approves of these. 

But the sufferers for conscience' sake ! O plausible semi- 
epicurean, what shall we say of these ? This ; — that they prefer 
the higher pleasure to the lower, and would not exchange the 
consciousness of moral worth, of fellowship with the good, and of 
closer connexion with more than earth, for things, to them, of 
inferior value. If the bargain seem to any too hard, 'tis nature's 



452 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 



indication that they may rest contented with the secondary grade 
of admiring what they cannot imitate. Yet history shows that, 
whenever occasion has called for it, numbers have not been found 
wanting to rush into the foremost rank of Virtue, testifying by 
their alacrity that some minds are so constituted as to find her 
rewards a reality.* 

With the increasing general improvement of mankind, occasions 
of this kind will be less and less frequent. Virtue will not be 
called upon for those high efforts, in which the exaltation of noble 
feelings must compensate for inconvenience, neglect, and suffering. 
The general constitution of human nature indicates that virtue is 
intended to co-exist with the enjoyment of the common blessings 
of life. The martyr's reward must be considered as an extraordi- 
nary provision to meet an extraordinary case ; but the more tranquil 
satisfactions of virtue will be the more permanent. Those generous 
spirits were made for their age ; but the last times will behold a 
world, not of martyrs, but of happiness-enjoying and happiness- 
giving brethren. 

To study the means of leading a happy life has been supposed 
to be the province of philosophy ; to ascertain the will of God, 
that of religion. They unite. Too long has the minister of 
sacred things stood aloof from the moralist, the philosopher, the 
political economist, as from labourers in a different sphere from 
his own. Too long has he considered himself as standing apart, 
and omitted to see that the investigator of Nature in all its pro- 
vinces is really employed in evolving and translating those texts 
of God's mighty book, from which he himself is to draw for men 
ennobling and consoling thoughts. Especially is the philosopher, 
who investigates the means of individual and national happiness, 
a fellow-labourer with the religionist ; for he is engaged in explor- 
ing the will of God where alone it can be found. Behold, then, 



* The possibility, at least, of a future state, caimot be disproved. It is 
one of the rewards of virtue to reflect, that, in the disposition to create and 
diffuse good, the mind has acquired a high degree of resemblance to the 
Divine nature, and that the likeness may include the partaking of its immor- 
tality. Thus, although the doctrine of the immortality of the soul be not 
held as a dogma, the contemplation of it may diffuse a high additional 
interest to man's existence ; and this contemplation becomes most earnest 
and pleasing to the virtuous sufferer. 

Every thing which tends to show that this contemplation is natural and 
necessary to the mind, especially amongst the good, tends to prove also the 
reality of a future state ; because the healthy working of human feelings is 
not found, in other cases, to lead to delusions. 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 453 

religion and philosophy unite ; they blend into one serene form, 
delightful to both the intellect and the heart. Christianity, throw- 
ing off the contracted look of superstition and exclusive saintship, 
issues from cathedrals and conventicles, and learns to walk in 
academic groves and gardens, with free unbending air, and in 
courteous equality with all mankind. 

Shades of Athenian Sages ! receive at length with friendly arms 
your Ally of Nazareth : Eeason, after eighteen centuries of labour, 
has prepared you all to meet each other. Go forth with him into 
nature's vast lyceum in friendly communion, instructing, correcting, 
ennobling each other. Let his devotional nature shed upon your 
researches that high and holy hue which was wanting to render 
philosophy omnipotent over men's affections, as well as their 
understanding ; — the recognition of the Soul of the World as a 
principle bearing close relationship to man's heart, and beaming 
forth through all material things to the intellectual eye. Let his 
benign spirit dissolve your proud contempt for the crowd, and dis- 
pose you to throw open your philosophic stores to all your brethren 
of mankind. And he, in his turn, will hear all that you can tell, 
gathered by deep thought and patient industry from the history of 
nature and of man, nor refuse to search further with you into the 
elder universal scripture for all that may reveal God and benefit 
man. 

These latter ages realize the A'ision. Plato, Epicurus, Cicero, 
Aristotle, live again in the profound thinkers and patient explorers 
of modern ages. And whatever was most admirable in the Gali- 
lean lives again in the frank benevolence, warm imagination, and 
unassuming devotion of many a generous, as well as religious, 
spirit. No longer need they be practically divided by seeking 
their respective materials of thought in different directions. The 
works and word of God are the same. They will find themselves 
inevitably at each other's side, and, exploring in the same field, 
will soon discover that their objects are alike, and that their spirits 
may therefore join. 

Not altogether fruitless have been the researches already made. 
The moralist has gathered this result from the experience of man- 
kind, that moderation in all the gratifications of sense, the pursuit 
of some approved object, the cultivation of the mind's higher 
powers, and the employment of those powers in such a manner as 
to bring forth the kindly affections and encourage the love of 
truth and justice, — that conduct framed according to these rules 



454 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

is the surest means of procuring a happy life to the individual, 
and, at the same time, of promoting the welfare of the race. Let 
but individual man earnestly seek the happiness of his whole 
nature, and he must of necessity be woiddng towards the happiness 
of the race. The Creator was not such an inconsistent or unskilful 
artist as to aim at producing general happiness by a system of 
individual misery. The character of the means harmonizes with 
that of the eud. The orbit of the smallest satellite obeys the 
same laws as the widest circle in which systems gravitate. 

The self-love which is interwoven with man's constitution will 
continually impel him to seek happiness of some kind, and advanc- 
ing knowledge will render more and more necessary the gratifica- 
tion of his moral and intellectual powers. The gratification of his 
ivhole nature must, in the constituted order of things, tend to the 
perfection of the race. We begin then to discover a mighty object, 
worthy of the Framer of nature, in his wonderful apparatus of 
pleasure and pain, hitherto the most puzzling part of his vast 
machinery. From amidst the chaos of human error and suffering, 
we begin to discern glimmerings which announce an Empyrean of 
beneficent light. 

Not yet are we out of the darkness ; not yet are self-love and 
social universally the same. But the general profession, at least, 
of estimation for the moral sentiments and the pleasures derivable 
from them, allows us to contemplate the universal verification of 
the maxim as no impossibility. And when men shall all come to 
recognize their highest pleasure in diffusing happiness, and shall 
seek the good of all with as much earnestness as their own ; when 
sincerity shall be as common as profession ; and the advanced in- 
tellect of mankind be subservient to equally advanced morality; — 
what a luxuriant scene of happiness may not be anticipated on this 
earth ! General knowledge, united with general benevolence, must 
banish all relics of crime and misery, and mankind live a happy 
brotherhood harmoniously occupied in drawing from the earth its 
copious treasures, exploring further into the secrets of creation, 
and increasing the stores of mental enjoyment. What may not 
man become in that happy age? — a being, pehaps, as superior to 
him of to-day, as the latter is to the preceding occupants of the 
planet; and then may be further developed the plan of creation, 
constituting things so that the happiness of man should be linked 
with his moral and intellectual progress. Then, whatever joys 
have been imagined of heaven will be realized upon earth, and a 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 455 

golden age be found to be the result of knowledge, and not of 
ignorance.* 

If it be acknowledged that any progress has hitherto been made 
in social happiness, it must also be admitted that such a state 
may be indefinitely approached. Thus all who labour in any de- 
partment with a purpose to promote the improvement of man, are 
co-operating in the grand scheme of providence, of preparing for 
the kingdom of Heaven upon Earth. Thus in a wider sense, per- 
haps, than he himself imagined, and by the sure means of human 
effort availing itself of nature's resources, are they gradually realiz- 
ing the conception of Jesus of Nazareth, and promoting the growth 
of the mustard-seed, till it become a tree in whose branches the 
birds shall lodge, when the earth shall be possessed by the children 
of God, and the Son of Man, perfected human nature, descend to 
reign upon it as from the clouds of heaven. 



* The present now is past, 
And those events that desolate the earth 
Have faded from the memory of time. • 

Futurity 

Exposes now its treasure : let the sight 
Renew and strengthen all thy failing hope. 



happy Earth ! reality of heaven 
To which those restless souls, that 
Throng through the human universe, aspire ; 
Thou consummation of all mortal hope ! 
Thou glorious prize of blindly working will ! 
Whose rays, diffused throughout all space and time, 
Verge to one point, and blend for ever there : 
Of purest spirits thou pure dwelling-place ! 
Where care and sorrow, impotence and crime, 
Languor, disease, and ignorance, dare not come : 
happy Earth, reality of heaven ! 

Genius has seen thee in her passionate dreams ; 
And dim forbodings of thy loveliness, 
Haunting the human heart, have there entwined 
Those rooted hopes of some sweet place of bliss 
Where friends and lovers meet to part no more. 
Thou art the end of all desire and will, 
The product of all action ; and the souls 
That by the paths of an aspiring change 
Have reached thy haven of perpetual peace, 
There rest from the eternity of toil 
That framed the fabric of thy perfectness. 

Shelley's Queen Mab. 



456 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

Well and nobly, then, do the generous benefactors of mankind, 
of every sect and nation, perform the most urgent command of the 
Propbet of Nazareth, to go forth and prepare for the Kingdom of 
heaven. If he could now return to earth, and add to his own 
generous spirit all that reason and science have accumulated since 
his day, would he not be proud to be allowed to call these his dis- 
ciples, and exclaim, — I call you not servants ; ye are my friends. 
That which, in my day, I thought was to be brought about by mi- 
racles, wonders, and signs, ye are accomplishing by the surer 
means wbich my Father hath provided in his works. More truly 
are ye thus my disciples, than if ye were to proclaim me most 
loudly Lord, and vociferate in my behalf a thousand Heathen or 
Jewish fictions. He that speaketh even against me, it is forgiven 
him ; but he that doeth the will of my Father is my disciple and 
friend. 

And thou, poor child of mortality, who sufferest thy full share 
of the afflictions which form part of the education of the race until 
they attain this happy majority, — canst thou not find part of thy 
consolation in this glorious prospect of thy species ? From thy 
corner in the dark vale of the present, let thy sympathetic affec- 
tions catch a glimpse of the boundless beauty of the future, and 
rejoice in the telescopic view of millions of thyself, with thy own 
thoughts and feelings renewed, basking in happiness, and free 
from all that which clouds thy being. Thou art one small neces- 
sary part of the great train of things which is slowly conducting 
to this consummation ; and wouldst thou rather not have been 
this ? Count thy disappointments and pains ever so minutely ; 
is not thy life worth something, if it were only for the sake of 
looking for a short time upon the glorious spectacle of the uni- 
verse, and of man's future prospects, with the consciousness that 
thou bearest a part in the great whole ? Thy small atom of ex- 
perience and action contributes to build up that immense bank, on 
which will be based the fertile island of man's future perfection. 
For thy individual self, trust that the wisdom and benevolence 
which appears in the general arrangements of creation include all 
that is really wise and benevolent on behalf of individuals. The 
Creating Mind hath seemed to be not devoid of what is best in 
the human ; trust, then, that there is something in him which 
looks with peculiar interest on patient suffering worth, and that 
he hath not neglected to provide for that which would be the first 
care of a benevolent mortal. Trust in him, and disdain to ask a 
reward. Feelest thou nothing in thee which prompts thee both 
to do and suffer in the cause of mankind, without any other reward 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 457 

than what thy own breast affords ? Importune not God with mer- 
cenary requests to add another mite to thy treasure in heaven ; 
but do good, hoping for nothing again. Let God be witness that 
thou canst be generous, and do good, without even casting a beg- 
gar's look to himself for recompence. Nevertheless, rejoice that 
all nature proclaims the Creator of sympathizing nature with every 
generous spirit ; and thus learn to see in all that is serene and 
lovely in earth and skies the approving smile of heaven. 

Fear not, then, to regard this earth as the appointed sphere of 
man's chief thoughts, exertions, and interests. To enjoy and 
promote happiness on this planet is the simple and pleasing obli- 
gation laid upon him by the Creator through the irresistible voice 
of his own constitution. If he obey nature, and frame his whole 
conduct according to her easy command, developed in details as 
enlightened intellect may suggest, he is sure to be promoting the 
end of his being. Man is no exception to the rule of animated 
existence ; the work for which he was created, he is also impelled 
to perform by nature's pleasing enforcements. Away with the 
glooms of false religion, austerities, seclusions, useless self-denials, 
and voluntary martyrdoms : God, through nature, commands man 
to lead a happy life. Obey God thyself, and assist others to obey 
him. In alternate study, action, business, sport, or repose, regu- 
lated according to the index of understanding placed in thyself for 
the purpose, let the consciousness of thy pleasing obedience diffuse 
a perpetual sunsbine over the path of life. Indulge thyself espe- 
cially, as far as it is given thee, in the enjoyment which God him- 
self seems to delight in, of creating happiness. And when the 
foreseen signal of departure arrives, give a glance of contented 
retrospection on a well-spent and well-enjoyed life, welcome the 
new comers into thy place, and sink peacefully into nature's arms. 

More is there than this ? Nature is silent. Enough has she 
given man to occupy him on earth ; she withdraws not yet the 
veil from what lies beyond, but bids him wait in calm implicit faith. 
Or if, pressed urgently by the affections which she herself has 
implanted in him, man seems to acquire a right to some answer, 
and demands if the friend of many years is now really no more 
than a remembrance, — she points with quiet significance to man's 
own heart, and to her own continual lesson, that the creator of that 
heart is good. Man takes consolation from the hint : amongst 
the white memorials of mortality he finds thought still pleasing, 
though solemn and severe, and admidst yew and cypress shades, 
catches animated glimpses of the remote bright stars and serene 



458 CHRISTIAN THEISM. 

heaven. Spirits of the wise and good ! noblest work of all crea- 
tion ! are ye not worth preserving in the sight of God ? The 
wisdom and benevolence which shine forth in all that we can already 
see of the universe, suggest, that for you there is still some place 
to occupy, and some work to be done, in the immense regions of 
the unseen. 



Nature thus can never fail to speak philosophy and religion to 
those who intently seek her ; and to her great revelation must all 
mankind ultimately recur. 

The various existing religions, in so far as they are based upon 
fictitious revelations, lose authority by every addition made to 
man's knowledge and powers of thought ; numbers must, therefore, 
fall off from every sect into the increasing multitude of those who 
seek for truth in Nature, and admit the authority of her volume 
alone. 

If names be necessary, let THEISM compendiously express the 
opinions of those who seek God in his works alone. 

Of these, many, from attachment to the faith of their forefathers, 
from respect for the man who, in an eaidy age, breathed forth so 
much of the pure spirit of religion and benevolence, and from 
reverence for that faith which, when viewed apart from the vices 
of its professors, has done much to humanize mankind, — may wish 
to retain the name of Christian. There is no incongruity in the 
junction. Christ was a Theist, inasmuch as he drew much of his 
doctrine from his own observation of God's works. And the 
Theist who imbibes the love of God and of man from the same 
source, often finds himself almost unconsciously adopting the 
words of Christ. Let CHEISTIAN THEISM then express 
the feelings of him, who, whilst he admits no authority above that 
of man's reason, and no revelation besides that of nature, yet 
listens to and honours one of the best expounders of God and 
Nature in the Man of Nazareth. 

Theists of every nation, Christian, Jew, Mahometan, or Chinese, 
can meet upon common ground. Whatever minor predilection 
each may entertain for his own most eminent teacher or prophet, 
whether Christ, Mahomet, Moses, or Confucius, their great prin- 



CHRISTIAN THEISM. 459 

ciple is the same, — to seek the knowledge of the Universal Mind, 
and rules for the guidance of man, in the great volume stretched 
out before all men. And when men come generally to discover 
that all have been thus set on a level for the acquisition of this 
knowledge, religion, instead of being allied with ignorance, ex- 
clusiveness, and dogmatism, will be found in closest union with 
modesty, benevolence, and science. No longer will it be supposed 
to consist in absurd tales and incomprehensible mysteries, but it 
will be the expression of Nature's highest truths, and the hymn 
ascending from a grateful Earth to a beneficent Heaven. 



APPENDIX. 



Page 407. — The same which, in reference to the future kingdom, was as- 
sumed by him. 

It is generally agreed by Christian commentators that the word Christ, 
XjOioro?, signifies anointed, and is synonymous with the Hebrew or Syriac 
Messias, derived from maschach, to anoint. 

Martinii Lexicon Philologicum : — " Xptoro? is the participle from Xpiw, 
in the same way as tmctus, from ungo. Irenaeus, 1. 3, cap. 20 : 'In Christi 
nomine subauditur qui unxit, et ipse unctus est, et ipsa unctio,' &c. Mes- 
sias is a Syriac word with a Greek termination." 

Stephani Thesaurus on the word Xpwro? : — " Our Saviour is pre-eminently 
designated by this name in the sense known to the Jews, since he was, in 
truth, Priest, Prophet, and King. For, amongst them, those three classes 
of men alone used to be anointed with sacred oil, as appears from Leviticus 
xvi. 10, which treats of the anointing of the High Priest ; 1 Kings, xix., the 
anointing of Elisha as prophet in the room of Elijah ; and 1 Sam., x., the 
anointing of Saul as King of the Israelites. See also the anointing of David 
as King, 1 Sam. xvi., 2 Sam. ii. & v., and of Solomon, 1 Kings, i.* The 
Latin writers preferred to retain the Greek appellation Christus rather than 
to substitute the Latin unctus or delibutus. Lactantius says, lib. iv. cap. 7, 
' But the meaning of the name must be explained on account of the error of 
those ignorant persons, who. by changing a letter, call it Chrestus. The 
Jews were commanded to make a sacred ointment wherewith to anoint those 
who were called to the priesthood or the kingdom : and as, now, the purple 
is the ensign of royalty amongst the Romans, so, amongst them, the anoint- 
ing with the sacred ointment conferred the royal name and authority. But 
since the ancient Greeks used the verb XpuaQai for to be anointed, instead of 
the present one aXiicpeuOai, we call him Christus, i. e. anointed, which, in 
Hebrew, is Messiah. Whence it is, that in some Greek scriptures, translated 
badly from the Hebrew, we find written t]\ufjLivo^, i. e. ungendo curatus, from 
a\ei<pEG9ai. However, either word signifies a King ; not, indeed, that he 
obtained an earthly kingdom, the time for which is not yet come, but a 
heavenly and eternal one.' In the New Testament, the word Xpioro? occurs 
frequently, both by itself and in conjunction with Jesus, as li)<rovq 6 XpitrTot;. 
In Daniel ix. it stands alone, ?d>? Xpiarov T]yov/.ievov, unto Christ the Prince : 
where also it is said, rov cuppayioai opaoiv Kai TrpcxprjTEiav kcli tov \piaai ayiov 
ayuav, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and anoint the holy of holies." 

Stephanus gives abundant instances of the use of the verb XP IU) ; an & °£ i* 8 

* XpwrrcK applied to Cyrus. Isaiah xlv. 1. 



462 APPENDIX. 

derivatives, xpioro?, xP t0 'i" a ) &c -> m the sense of anointing or smearing, vngo 
lino, seupemmgo, inungo, oblino, illino, amongst Greek authors, viz. Homer, 
Xenophon, Euripides, Theocritus, Dioscorides, Philoxenus, &c. 

The Jews applied the term Messiah, or anointed, to their expected deli- 
verer long before Jesus appeared. The Septuagint, made about three 
centuries before his time, gives ^pioro? as the translation of this word, and 
the verb xi° tw ) 'with its derivations used in a similar sense, was very com- 
mon amongst Greek authors from the earliest times. The origin of the 
application of the name Christ to Jesus seems, therefore, to be very satis- 
factorily established, in conformity with the unanimous testimony of the 
Christian church. 

But Volney, Dupuis, and others, neglect this derivation of the name, and 
suppose it to be a corruption of some ancient appellation of the Sun. Volney 
says, ch. xxii. sect. 13, " The mythological traditions maintain that he (the 
Sun) was called sometimes Chris, or Conservator ; and hence the Hindoo 
God, Chris-en, or Christna ; and the Christian Chris-tos, the Son of Mary ;" 
which is supported thus in a note, " Chris, or Conservator. The Greeks used 
to express by X, the aspirated /id of the Orientals, who said hdris. In 
Hebrew, heres signifies the sun ; but, in Arabic, the meaning of the radical 
word is, to guard, to preserve, and of hdris, guardian, preserver." 

This is far from satisfactory, and cannot set aside the clear explanation 
quoted above ; even though we should admit that some of the traditions 
respecting the Divinities representing the Sun came to be applied to Jesus 
Christ. 

Of the Hindoo God Crishna, Sir W. Jones gives the following account 
(Works, 4to, vol. i. p. 278) : " That the name of Crishna, and the general 
outline of his story, were long anterior to the birth of our Saviour, and 
probably to the time of Homer, we know very certainly.* Yet the cele- 
brated poem entitled Bhagavat,f which contains a prolix account of his 
life, is filled with narratives of a most extraordinary kind, but strangely 
variegated and intermixed with poetical decorations. The incarnate deity 
of the Sanscrit romance was cradled among herdsmen ; he was educated 
among them, and passed his youth in playing with milk-maids. A tyrant, 
at the time of his birth, ordered all new-born male infants to be slain ; yet 
this wonderful babe was preserved in an extraordinary manner from a nurse 
commissioned to kill him. He performed amazing but ridiculous miracles 
in his infancy, and, at the age of seven years, held up a mountain on the tip 
of his little finger : he saved multitudes, partly by his arms and partly by 
his miraculous powers ; he raised the dead by descending for that purpose 
to the lowest regions ; he was the meekest and best-tempered of beings, 
washed the feet of the Brahmans, and preached very nobly indeed, and 
sublimely, but always in their favour ; he was pure in reality, but exhibited 



* In Asiatic Besearches, vol. i. p. 426, he gives some reasons for fixing 
the date of Crishna's appearance, real or imagined, about 1200 years before 
Christ. 

f The Bhagavat is the last of the eighteen Puranas, of which Captain 
Wilford says (Essay on the Origin and Decline of the Christian Beligion in 
India, Asiatic Researches, vol. x.), " Every one of the Puranas is much later 
than our era ; though many legends, and the materials in general, certainly 
existed before, in some other shape. 



APPENDIX. 463 

an appearance of libertinism ; lastly, lie was benevolent and tender, yet 
fomented and conducted a terrible war. This motley story must induce an 
opinion that the spurious gospels which abounded in the first age of 
Christianity had been brought to India, and the wildest parts of them 
repeated to the Hindoos, who engrafted them on the old fable of Cesava, 
the Apollo of Greece." He says, in another place, that the meaning of the 
word Crishna is dark-blue, approaching to black, which is supposed to 
have been his complexion ; and hence the large bee of that colour is conse- 
crated to him. 

Captain Wilford adds to the foregoing account, " The Yadus, his own tribe 
and nation, were doomed to destruction for their sins ;" and " the real name 
of Crishna was Caneya, and he was surnarned Crishna, or the black, on 
account of his complexion." 

From all this there appears no reason to suppose that the name Christ 
was borrowed from Crishna, or that the two had a common origin. Christos, 
in Greek, signified anointed ; and Crishna, with the Hindoos, black. The 
many rude resemblances between the story of the Hindoo God, and the 
Gospel accounts of Jesus, especially that of Matthew, may be explained by 
supposing that the similarity of the names, of itself a mere coincidence, led 
both the Hindoos and the Christians to borrow from each other, parts of the 
stories relating to the two objects of worship. It seems probable, however, 
that in the greater part of these resemblances the Hindoos were the plagi- 
arists. 

Page 426. — In what language should God have written his message ? 

"Au lieu de-suspendre un soleil dans la voute du firmament ; au lieu de 
repandre sans ordre les etoiles et les constellations qui remplissent l'espace, 
n'eut-il pas ete jilus conforme aux vues d'un Dieu si jaloux de sa gloire, et si 
bien intentionne pour l'homme, d'ecrire d'une facon non sujette a dispute, 
son nom, ses attributs, ses volontes permanentes, en caracteres ineffacables, 
et lisibles egalement pour tousles habitans de la terre?" — Systeme de la 
Nature. 

Page 435. — Some principle not manifesting itself apart from matter. 

The objections of reputed Atheists apply chiefly to the idea of a Demi- 
urgus or creating God, distinct from the universe itself. Shelley says that 
his negation of a God must be understood solely to affect a creative Deity, 
and that the hypothesis of a pervading Spirit, coeternal with the universe, 
remains unshaken. 

Theism is not limited to the belief in an artificer who, at a certain time, 
created the material world from nothing. It recognizes an intelligent 
principle, which causes material things to be in the form which we see ; 
but whether this principle operates by successive acts of creation, or by a 
perpetually influencing presence, or both, is a separate and more difficult 
consideration. The Soul or Spirit of the Universe, considered as a mind 
animating and regulating it, as the human mind does the body, is an idea 
which gives rise to the religious sentiments, in as great a degree, probably, 
as that of a strictly creative agent. 

Page 442. — Dante relates, Sfc. 

On referring to the passage, Paradiso, Canto 33, after this note was gone 
to press, I found that the meaning of Dante was, probably, to shadow forth 



464 APPENDIX. 

the second person of the Trinity. He would, doubtless, excuse an inaccu- 
racy which makes his splendid imagery serve a further purpose than it was 
at first intended for. 

Page 446. — The zeal which wastes itself in misdirected missionary exer- 
tion. 

Sir W. Jones says (Works, vol. i. p. 279), "As to the general extension 
of our pure faith in Hindostan. there are at present many sad obstacles to 
it. The Mussulmen are already a sort of heterodox Christians : they are 
Christians, if Locke reasons justly, because they believe firmly the immacu- 
late conception, divine character, and miracles of the Messiah ; but they are 
heterodox in denying vehemently his character of Son, and his equality as 
God with the Father, of whose unity and attributes they entertain and 
express the most awful ideas ; while they consider our doctrine as perfect 
blasphemy, and insist that our copies of the Scriptures have been corrupted 
both by Jews and Christians. It will be inexpressibly difficult to undeceive 
them, and scarcely possible to diminish their veneration for Mohammed and 
Ali, who were both very extraordinary men, and the second a man of 
unexceptionable morals. The Koran shines, indeed, with a borrowed light, 
since most of its beauties are taken from our Scriptures ; but it has great 
beauties, and the Mussulmen will not be convinced that they were bor- 
rowed. The Hindoos, on the other hand, would readily admit the truth of 
the Gospel; but they contend that it is perfectly consistent with their 
Sastras : the Deity, they say, has appeared innumerable times, in many parts 
of this world, and of all worlds, for the salvation of his creatures ; and 
though we adore him in one appearance, and they in another, yet we adore, 
they say. the same God, to whom our several worships, though different in 
form, are equally acceptable, if they be sincere in substance. We may 
assure ourselves, that neither Mussulmen nor Hindoos will ever be converted 
by any mission from the church of Rome, or any church ; and the only 
human mode, perhaps, of causing so great a revolution, will be to translate 
into Sanscrit and Persian such chapters of the Prophets, particularly of 
Isaiah, as are indisputably evangelical, together with one of the Gospels, 
and a plain prefatory discourse containing full evidence of the very dis- 
tant ages in which the predictions themselves, and the history of the divine 
person predicted, were made public ; and then quietly to disperse the work 
among the well-educated natives, with whom, if in due time it failed of 
producing very salutary fruit by its natural influence, we could only lament 
more than ever the strength of prejudice, and the weakness of unassisted 
reason." 

.;■■ 

THE END. 

T. CALDICOTT, PRIXTEE, EARL STREET, COVENTRY. 




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